Forbidden Fruits
by T. Soul - The Harem Master
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki's life is suffocated by darkness until he finds light in the form angels. Their lives change for the better as they surround each other with love and letting light in even the blackest soul NaruHinaInoSaku. Will later be rated M for lemon!
1. Encounter

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter One**

**Encounter**

**(~Friday, July 18th~)**

A small, blonde-haired boy sat alone on a swing in the small playground. It was completely empty and desolately silent. He began to cry silently, vibrations trimming down his small frame.

_'Why does everyone hate me? What did I ever do to them?' _

He continued to cry in shame and self loathing of the villagers' hatred against him. Two vibrant girls with silver-blonde and blossom pink hair respectively were engaged in idle chat as they made their way over to the young boy. Unknown to him, they ceased their chatting and watch him. The silence was broken by his small sobs wrenching sorrow and sympathy into the atmosphere. Glancing at each other, they walked slowly over to the swing set silently, watching him with wary and pitying eyes. The boy's sobs cease and he becomes aware of the approaching girls, hastily wiping his eyes.

"What's wrong?" The pink haired girl asked softly. Her friend was equally as curious but was watching sadly, resisting the feeling to comfort him should he become afraid. The boy looked up at them and saw concern and kindness in their eyes. Bowing his head, he glanced at them from underneath longs bangs of bright, yellow hair.

"Everyone hates me and because of that I have no friends." He said dejectedly. They looked at each other confusedly.

"What about your parents?" Asked the other girl, running a finger through her long pony tail.

"I don't have any. My parents are dead." He replied back stiffly.

That was not the answer they were expecting and felt the small crystals of water running from their eyes.

_'No parents?_'

_'No wonder he's so unhappy. Poor thing!_'

"Why does everyone hate you?" She asked curiously. He looked up at them innocently. "I...I...they think I killed their families. They know I have demon inside of me and they blame me for the deaths of the Kyūbi attack. They blame me for something I have no control over, even if I do have the fox demon sealed inside of me!" The boy sobbed emotion deep in every syllable. They glanced at him with looks of worry and kindness, heart aching for his sorrowful life. They walked up to him and gripped his arms comfortingly. He looked up with tears in his eyes, fearful and curious to whether they despised him or believed him.

The blonde girl smiled encouragingly and said, "We'll be your friends. You know, if want us to."

He couldn't that this was real and not a dream. They wanted to be his friends, even though he had the most powerful of all demons inside of him. Fresh tears filled his eyes and overflowed and he was crying but they were tears of joy. The girls gave him a tight squeeze around his shoulders and lay against his shoulder.

"I'm Sakura Haruno."

"I'm Ino Yamanaka."

He looked at Ino and Sakura and smiled saying, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki." They sat watching the sky until the sky turned velvet black and the stars looked like powdered crystal scattered in the sky.

**The Next Day, 7:00 A.M.**

Naruto Uzumaki awoke from his sleep, yawning loud enough to wake the rocks in Iwagakure. Naruto grinned widely when he remembered last night.

**Flash-Back: The Previous Day, 11:06 P.M.**

_Naruto awoke with a peaceful smile, reaching up to stretch his arms. They were held down by noticed that Sakura and Ino were sleeping against his shoulders; stretching his arms as best as he could without waking them he sighed and looked at the sky. It was getting late and their parents would surely miss them if they were out too late. Coming to a decision Naruto held the girls close to his chest one arm underneath each one. He walked to the village silently heading towards where he knew to be the Yamanaka Flower Shop._

_Naruto knew the shop closed at ten and the Yamanaka family lived in an apartment above the shop. He knocked roughly on the door three times and sat Ino and Sakura at the doorstep. When he heard the sound of someone running downstairs he left but not before he slipped a note into Sakura's pocket._

**End Flash-Back**

**(Present Time)**

**7:05 A.M.**

His happy moment was destroyed by an old and haughty aged women; she like everyone else in the orphanage (including the kids) hated him and didn't try to deny it.

"Shut it you idiot. Or else you wake all the others up, you noisy brat." She scolded him. "Now go get washed and when you're done go outside and occupy yourself."

Naruto took his stuff and ran to the bath making sure he was especially clean for his special "errands".

**12:00 P.M.**

"INO! INO LOOK! LOOK AT THIS!" yelled Sakura to Ino who was busy with customers. Sakura began running down stairs with the force of a furious bull. "Can you excuse me for one second please? Thank yo-."Said Ino, interrupted as Sakura practically dragged her to the other side of the counter. "What is it Sakura? I have customers waiting." She asked irritated, glancing at the couple waiting for her. Sakura on the other hand just smiled teasingly and said, "I guess you don't want to know about the letter our new friend Naruto left us." Ino's eyes widened as she stood as she hung on Sakura's every word.

Sakura knew that she had Ino's undivided attention continued on. "Well it just so happens I have the letter right here. He left it in my pocket." Said Sakura. SLOWLY, oh so slowly, she pulled the letter from her pocket just before Ino, unable to take the suspense anymore, snatched the letter from her. A loud rip was heard on their side of the room and they spared a glance at the couple who was looking at them curiously.

Indicating she was almost done, Ino returned to the letter. The letter read:

_**Dear Ino and Sakura,**_

_**I'm sorry about last night but I had to leave. I hope you'll forgive me because I didn't wake you up but you looked so peaceful. I didn't know where Sakura's house was so I left her with you; I hope that was okay with both of you. Still I am sorry for any trouble that my doing that may have caused between you or parents; I'll claim full responsibility for any trouble but first I'll make it up to you and buy you lunch. How about the Ichiraku Ramen Bar at one o'clock and the food's on me? Hope you can make it, if not I understand.**_

_**Your Friend,**_

_**Naruto**_

Ino and Sakura stood with their mouths open as they looked at each other in shock. Someone cleared their throat and brought them out of it and they turned to see the customers waiting patiently. Ino smiled and said, "Sorry. What did you need help with again?" She asked politely.

While she was helping the customers, Sakura was fidgeting on the counter and as soon as the customers left Ino and Sakura rushed up the stairs. With an hour before they were supposed to meet Naruto and desperately trying to look their best.

**12:15 P.M**

Naruto was checking and double checking himself in the mirror. Looking at the orphanage clock in his dorm he saw he still had 45 minutes left and decided to take a walk around Konoha. He was walking down a dirt road towards the Hokage monument. A fair amount of time was used when he reached the Yondaime's head as he sat down to ponder everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours.

He went from being hated and shunned by nearly everyone in the village and being a lonely and saddened child with no friends, to gaining two new friends and knowing that at least a few people knew about the demon sealed inside of him and believed he was just human like everyone else. His eyes and heart welled with emotion knowing in his heart he'd do anything and everything to protect his two new precious people. The time it must have been sent Naruto running as he realized he'd have to run to Ichiraku to get there on time. He would make it up to them and do something great for them today.

**1:00 P.M.**

Sakura and Ino were walking from the shop to the place Naruto told them to meet him at. "You think he'll like this outfit?" Sakura asked as they looked at each other's attire, she wearing a light pink long sleeve shirt and skirt and Ino a short sleeve shirt with knee high shorts.

Before Ino could answer a voice said "Why don't you ask him?" They shrieked and turned around. Only to find Kiba, Shikamaru, Chōji, Tenten, Lee, Neji, and Shino all doubled over in laughter. "Shut up Kiba it's not funny!" screamed both girls simultaneously. They went on to scolding the others about surprising people and causing heart attacks. Unknown to them they'd already reached the ramen bar; someone was outside waiting for them.

"Sakura? Ino? Glad you could make it. I didn't think you'd come." Said Naruto. Ino and Sakura rushed to get a seat next to him.

Glancing at him, they noticed he was wearing an orange undershirt & a black jacket with a larger orange spiral, blending with his many pocketed pants. His dandelion yellow, sun-kissed hair was just as spiky as ever as sky blue eyes showing relief, curiosity, concern and amusement.

"Hi Naruto." They said, blushing as they glanced at the floor their cheeks turning red. Behind them the others begin snickering and wolf whistling.

Curious Naruto turned around but before he could see who they were, they'd already left. He did, however, turn just in time to see Ayame come to take their orders.

"Hi Naruto, are these your friends?" She asked sweetly.

Naruto nodded and Ayame looked at the girls. "What would you girls like?"

"I'd like some chicken ramen please."

"Me as well."

"You want the usual right?" Ayame asked, looking at Naruto.

"Of course Ayame-Chan."

"Do you come here often Naruto-Kun?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah. Usually every day because the food is within my budget and they have the best ramen ever."

Ino stared at her best friend in surprise but Naruto was a little more subtle and kept his eyes focused directly in front of him. They had the same thoughts of Sakura's unintended slip.

_'Did I just call him Naruto-Kun?'_

_'Did she just call him Naruto-Kun?'_

_'She just called me Naruto-Kun.'_

The ramen arrived not a moment too soon and Naruto hastily broke apart his chopsticks and devoured the bowl of ramen in front of him.

Ino and Sakura stared at the oblivious Naruto, gasping when he ordered another bowl.

'_Aww. He looks so cute when he eats, like a little fox.'_ Ino thought, shaking her head in starting on the bowl in front of her. Sakura smiled and ate her food, listening to the musings of Inner Sakura.

_'He is soo cute. He's like a baby fox in the wild.'_

By the time the Ino and Sakura were finished, Naruto already went through his fourth bowl.

Like a true gentlemen, Naruto paid for the food and paused to lift up the flap to let Ino and Sakura out first. They blushed at his chivalry, murmuring a quiet, "Thank you."

Naruto grinned brightly, dazzling them with the joy of his smile.

"Do you want to see this cool place I found?"

"Yeah. That'd be great Naruto-Kun!"

"Of course, I can't wait to see it Naruto-Kun!"

"OK, we'll go this way. Last one there is a rotten egg!" They laughed as Naruto begin to sprint off, chasing him gleefully as he began his exaggeration of slow motion running to allow them to catch up.


	2. New Faces

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Two**

**New Faces**

**(~Saturday, July 19****th****~)**

"Can you keep a secret?"

Ino and Sakura nodded eagerly.

"OK, close your eyes." They obeyed without question. Naruto smiled, clasping their hands between his own as he led them through a thick clump of trees and brush.

"Are you ready?"

"Hai Naruto-Kun!"

"Hai Naruto-Kun!"

"Ok then...open you eyes."

In the middle there was a huge tree with cherry blossoms on every branch. To complete this floral paradise there was a silver shining blue stream.

"This is the place. So what do you think?" Naruto asked anxiously, his fingers intertwining in a traditional nervous habit.

When he saw the awe struck and amazed expressions, he knew that was all he really needed to know their answer. "Naruto-Kun, How did you find this place?" asked Ino.

"Yeah. It's so beautiful." said Sakura. She walked over to the huge cherry blossom tree and sat against the trunk with Naruto and Ino following her. Naruto settled himself between Ino and Sakura as he began to tell them the story.

"One day at the orphanage, we were sent out on a village scavenger hunt and one of the things we had to find was a rare flower. I heard someone say could be found near the outer borders of the village. I came across this place while I was looking for it." He explained. Conversation flowed easily between them and before they even realized it the sky turned dark and it was around 8:00 when Naruto led them back into the village.

"Is it too late or would you girls mind making one more stop?" They shook their heads and Naruto lead them to a store down the road called _Kami's Treasure_.

Naruto knew the owner and was always on good terms with her. Behind the counter was a young woman with red hair. She was lean, curvy, and kind. She smiled when she saw Naruto. "Hey, Naruto how can I help you?" she said. Naruto smiled before saying, "Hi Periko-Chan. I've come to buy some candy for my friends."

Periko walked around the counter and started showing Ino and Sakura different types of candy and sweets as Naruto browsed the store before wandering back to the sweets and confections in the chocolate section. Ino and Sakura chose their candy and were just about to pay for it before Naruto walked up and put enough money for all the treats on the counter. They found it to be very sweet he would pay for their candy and felt their cheeks grow warm. They walked to Ino's house, playful banter beginning to ring back and forth between them and the girls couldn't stop giggling as Naruto told crazy stories about how all of his pranks on the Hokage.

When they got to the doorstep, Ino gave Sakura a hug and, much to his surprise, Naruto too before saying goodnight. She went inside, giggling the whole time. Naruto looked at Sakura, grinning from ear to ear, and said, "So I guess it's just me and you Sakura-Chan. Where do you live?"

Sakura had a slight blush. 'Did he just call me Sakura-Chan?' She thought.

**Inner Sakura: "You bet he did. Just like you called him Naruto-Kun. Sakura's likes Naruto! Sakura likes Naruto!"**

She began to blush deeply as she stared down, suddenly very interested in her feet. "I live a few blocks west from Ino's house. So we should see it in a few minutes." She said. They had walked for about 6 blocks in the civilian section of the village before Sakura stopped in front of an off-white house with brown trimming, surrounded by a metal fence and door gate. The other houses around it were very similar giving Naruto and idea that this was a housing community. Sakura unlocked the gate and faced Naruto.

"Good night Naruto-Kun." Said Sakura, giving him a brief hug before she entered and locked the gate and went inside the house. "Good night Sakura-Chan." Naruto said quietly, feeling warmth spread through his body, unable to suppress the smile etched on his face. Looking at the sky, he blanched before running to the orphanage, leaving billowing clouds of dust in his wake.

**10 minutes later**

Naruto was lying in his cot, in a slight day dream as the snores of the room's other inhabitants reached his ears. The day he had planned went perfectly unless the orphanage caretaker yelling at him for staying out so late was considered a bust. He was sent to bed with no food but that didn't matter since he still had some candy leftover. Naruto shifted in his bed fighting the urge to sleep with restlessness from the day's events. Though the fact he ate seven sticks of rock candy may have contributed to that too.

Suddenly, he heard the door open and the sound of heavy heels across the floor. Naruto turned his back to the door and pretended to be asleep. A few seconds later he could feel the harsh beam of a flash light upon him and gut instinct told him it was the care keeper. He didn't dare turn around, and remained that way until the person left under the illusion that he was dormant. With heavy growing eyelids, Naruto submitted to sleeping unable without putting up much of a fight.

_**(~Thursday, August 14**__**th**__**~)**_

Naruto was walking along behind the marketplace, listening to the loud sounds as the street thrived with busy patrons bustling with laughter and happiness. Things, up until he met his two best friends and girls, which he truly didn't understand until he received it firsthand. He had just left from saying good night to Ino and Sakura as he took them home earning him a peck on the cheek after lengthy time of blushing. Naruto knew that he liked, liked them and was pleasantly happy to find that they _liked _him too. He had only about a week's experience in this whole boyfriend thing but was determined to be the best boyfriend he could be. Naruto was just heading back to the orphanage when he collided into to something big which emitted a loud squeak.

He turned to see what he hit, gasping in surprise when a saw a small and timid girl on the ground. She had shoulder-length violet hair and lilac white, pupil-less his eyes. In his eyes there was only one word to describe her.

_'Angel.' _He thought.

Ino and Sakura held their own unique beauty but he couldn't help but admire the girl's gorgeous appearance. He quickly focused back on the current situation to see the girl reaching over to recover the papers she dropped. Naruto quickly bent down to help her, grabbing the thick sheets of neat writing.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't watch where I was going and I didn't mean to hit you! Here are your papers! I hope I didn't ruin them." He apologized, feeling horrible for causing her trouble.

"N-No! R-Really i-it's okay." The girl started, watching the ground intently. "I should have just walked on my side more carefully. I-I-I'm s-sorry." She stuttered softly, still looking at the ground, her cheeks tinged with pink. Naruto slowly reached out his hands to hers, gasping slightly at the surprising warmth of her palm. Her head tilted up between him and their contacting hands. A small shiver ran down his spine and he noticed that she may have felt it too.

The girl blushed and looked down, effectively ending the moment. Naruto slid the papers between her fingers as she started to stand up with her papers tucked underneath her arm. She was just turning to leave before he called out to her. "Hold on a second! May I please get your name? I don't have much but I can at least offer you a meal at Ichiraku's."

"I-I-I am H-Hinata Hyūga."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Pleased to meet you Naruto-San."

"It's nice to meet you as well, Hinata-Chan. Would you like to join me for a meal at Ichiraku or maybe try something from the candy store on Main Street. It's on me!"

The girl blushed heavily, biting her lips and clenching her fingers together.

"Oh Naruto-San I-I c-couldn't ask y-y-you to do s-something like that. You-b-barely know me."

"That doesn't matter Hinata-Chan. I can get to know you now. Please consider as my apology for knocking you down."

Her eyes widened and she looked in serious debate over the idea. Hinata smiled embarrassingly keeping her eyes and voice low.

"I am sorry um...N-Naruto-San but I don't think I can join you. I however do accept your apology and thank you for collecting my papers."

"You're welcome Hinata-Chan. Well, I guess I'll see you around."

"Goodbye Uzumaki-San."

"Bye Hinata-Chan."

Hinata stepped around him, quickly walking as fast as her legs could carry her. Naruto stood, staring at the spot where she had just been until recently, before he noticed something glinting on the ground.

It was a silver necklace with an elegant and gentle design along the locket with an encased pearl in the center with tiny amethyst stones decorating the edges. Engraved on the back was: _H. Hyūga_.

'_That Hinata girl must have dropped it when she ran off.' _Thought Naruto. He decided to return it later and continued his walk to the orphanage, stopping for a quick bowl at Ichiraku's.


	3. Returning the Favor

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Three**

**Returning the Favor**

**Two Days Later**

Naruto was walking towards the west section of Konoha where the clan residencies were. In his hand he held a silver necklace decorated by priceless gems. He looked at the back of the necklace and reread the name engraved on the back. "Hyūga, Hyūga...Why does that name sound familiar? Didn't Jiji-Sama tell me something about a Hyūga being of Konoha's most powerful clans?" He muttered, lost in deep thought. Naruto kept walking until he stood in front of a gate.

The gate was made of impressive black wrought iron beautifully carved with a platinum crest decorated by different clan seals centered around the trademark Konoha Shinobi emblem. The gate was manned by two Chūnin sentries. "Excuse me do you know where the Hyūga mansion is? I'm trying to return something to someone." He asked. One of the Chūnin looked at him then at the other sentry, nodding his head slightly.

Naruto gulped and stepped back; he could see the hatred of him in their eyes. One of the sentries tackled him and held his hands behind his back while the other was doing hand signs and shouted "**Burakku Hando**: **Doragon Ikari No Tekken (Black Hand: Fist of Fury)**!" The man's hands started to glow and he pulled back and punched Naruto in the stomach. It was earth searing pain and cut deeper than the deepest bowels of hell.

He felt his blood boiling and a sensation like powdered glass cut his organs from the inside out. Breaking free of the sentry's grip he kicked the man in the crotch and broke the other's nose. When the sentry's hand was forcibly removed from his stomach, Naruto felt the pain subside. He bent over trying to catch his breath a warm sensation spreading through his body repairing his organs.

He heard the gate creak along with the sound of hurried footsteps and Naruto shot up and found himself in front of a crowd of people. He looked at the man directly in front of him; He was tall with long raven-colored hair, whites eyes, a furious expression, and was releasing enough killing intent to make the sentries wet themselves and Naruto gulp (He was already used to the killing intent from villagers). Naruto was about to apologize even though he was not at fault, when the man spoke.

"Bobu, Deko what's going on here?" he demanded. The other clan heads nodded in agreement. Deko, the sentry who punched Naruto, said, "We were guarding our posts when the demon showed up. We politely asked why he was here when he attacked us. Bobu and I tried to stop him from entering and harming the clans, Hiashi-Sama. He was trying to murder us!"

The raven haired man looked coldly at Naruto. "Is that true? Were you trying to harm our clans and murder these two sentries?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "No. I was looking for the Hyūga mansion so I could give someone this necklace back. You wouldn't know who it belongs to so I can return it?" He held up the necklace and showed it to the bewildered crowd. The man in front of him held his hand out for the necklace and Naruto gave it to him.

He looked at the necklace and said, "This is my daughter's necklace. She has been worried out of her mind, wondering where this necklace was." Naruto stared at the man his mouth agape before he then proceeded to explain how he got the necklace and at the end of the explanation, the man displayed his approval. "My name is Hiashi Hyūga and the girl to whom this necklace belongs to is Hinata Hyūga my eldest child and heir to the Hyūga clan. Naruto-San, if you would follow me please." He responded before turning around and walking as he motioned for the sentries to follow behind as well, obviously indicating it was not an option.

Naruto followed Hiashi and the other clan heads came along right behind them, some going back to their own estates. They were looking curiously at Naruto. He walked pretending not to notice the curious and concerned stares from them. Hiashi led them to a large estate walking through a circle of towering and fragranced trees in the middle of an emerald green lawn. They went through a transparent white, stained glass door and found themselves in the middle of a grand foyer.

A servant walked up to Hiashi and said, "Good afternoon Master Hiashi and honorable guests. Is there anything you require?" Even though he was talking to Hiashi it was an open ended question. A few seconds passed and Hiashi said, "Would you bring some tea to the conference room and please tell Hinata I will need to speak to her immediately." The servant bowed and said, "Yes Hyūga-Sama, I will tend to it immediately." Before he rushed off to do his tasks.

Hiashi led them down a long bright hallway into a large room. The sentries were told to wait in a different room and threatened if they tried to escape. The room was furnished by a long wooden table in the middle surrounded by chairs and a large family portrait was hanging above of the chair at the head of the table. It depicted Hiashi and a young woman with purple hair, who Naruto took to be his wife. There were just two children and both of them were girls. Inside the room were shelves filled with books, scrolls, maps, and such. Hiashi sat in the chair at the head of the table and motioned for Naruto to sit in the chair on his right. Naruto accepted the proffered chair and sat down looking with curiosity and awe at his surroundings.

The others joined them seated around the table. Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the Uchiha clan, took a seat immediately on Hiashi's other side. Before the Uchiha could strike conversation the butler came in with tea, the Hyūga heiress following behind him. Naruto and Hinata locked eyes for a few seconds until Hinata looked away, blushing. Hiashi and Fugaku were the only ones this notice this interaction since the other heads were busy chatting.

Hiashi had a look of curiosity and amusement. Fugaku's normally blank face showed a hint of anger and frustration before it returned to a cold mask again. "Hinata I assume you already know this boy." He said, smiling slightly, as he remembered from Naruto's explanation how they met. Hinata nodded, increasingly interested in her shoes.

Hiashi continued and said, "From what I understand you two bumped into each other causing you to drop the necklace and some very important clan documents. From what I gather you both were in a rush and left behind _the_ necklace, which was and is a _very valuable heirloom_. Care to explain Hinata?" His voice showing anger in every syllable, Hinata gulped and nodded slowly, knowing what was coming next.

Everyone in the room sensed what was coming; Fugaku got an evil grin on his face. He loved seeing people put down, especially weak ones and women. Before Hiashi could berate Hinata, Naruto stepped in. "Hyūga-San it's not Hinata's fault. If I hadn't knocked her over and grabbed her necklace she wouldn't have lost it. Please don't blame Hinata; blame me." He said. Naruto looked Hiashi straight in the eye.

Hinata looked at him with, eyes wide with gratefulness, embarrassment, and admiration. They were all facing Naruto with searching expressions as they stared at Naruto's eyes to see if he was telling the truth.

'He's not telling the truth.' Hiashi thought. 'But he's doing it to protect someone he barely knows. It's that kind of man I want my daughter to have. I can tell she likes him. Perhaps I should let this play out and see where it goes.'

"Alright I will let it go this time but should she ever lose it again she will face the consequences. Is that clear?" The children nodded quickly and Hiashi smiled and said, "Alright then, you are dismissed so run along now."

Hinata and Naruto walked out of the room and they sat on the steps of the marble staircase. Hinata broke the silence. "Thank you Naruto for standing up to my father and taking the blame. You didn't have to do that but I'm very grateful you did and thank you for bringing back my necklace." She said quietly. Naruto replied, "You're welcome Hinata-chan. If you don't mind me asking how did you get that necklace?" Her hand clasped the pendant hanging around her neck.

"It was a gift from my mom. In her family it was passed from mother to daughter for 7 generations. She gave it to me on my birthday the day that she died." Hinata said softly. Naruto put an arm around Hinata's shoulder and pulled her closer. It was too much; her emotions sky rocketed as she started crying on his shoulder. He held her and stroked her hair as they sat finding comfort in each other as one motherless orphan to another; Naruto held Hinata until her eyes dried out.

She looked at him and smiled. "Thank you Naruto. I really needed to do that." Naruto pulled her closer and said, "Don't worry about it. I'll always be here for you Hinata-Chan. Believe it!" Hinata giggled then suddenly she was hit with a brilliant idea. She told Naruto to wait there while she went to get something. A few minutes later she returned and Hinata grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him to the door.

"_Hinata-Chan_, what are you doing?" Naruto whined while she giggled then grinned mischievously. "I'm returning the favor." she whispered proceeding to yank Naruto out the door, his whines and her laughter filling the foyer until the door shut behind them.


	4. Truce

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Four**

**Truce**

**(~**_**Tuesday, August 18th**_**~)**

Naruto and the girls were sitting in a cafe waiting for the server to return. Naruto was chatting animatedly to Hinata and even though this was only their 2nd time meeting each other they talked as though they'd been friends for years. Ino and Sakura were silently glaring daggers at Hinata when Naruto wasn't looking, while Hinata was either unfazed or oblivious to the death glares. But in truth she saw the glares and it sent small shivers up her spine. The killing intent rolling of the girls was unbelievable but she was good at hiding her true emotions. Even though the three were friends when they were younger, they acted like they never knew each other when in truth it was the exact opposite.

Normally she'd probably be flustered and quite afraid but every time she was with Naruto he made her feel safe so they didn't have as devastating of an effect. That was not to say she didn't feel it in the least, though she looked calm and collected she was afraid and nervous. Hinata felt that nervousness disappear when she looked into Naruto's eyes. They were calm and quiet but energetic and joyful at the same time.

It was like she was swimming in a sea of emotions. The clearing of a throat snapped Hinata out of her daydream. It was none other than Sakura. She and Ino had looks of sugar-coated anger etched on their faces.

"Naruto-Kun, the girls and have to go to the restroom. We'll be right back; you don't mind do you?" Sakura asked sweetly while Naruto looked at them.

"Uh sure. OK." He said, confused and nervous.

'I wonder why they asked me? Hmmm must be a girl thing.'

Ino motioned for Sakura and Hinata to follow her. Just as they got up to leave Naruto called out, "Are you going far?"

Ino smiled reassuringly and said, "Don't worry Naruto-kun. We're just going to go to bathroom to talk, it's a girl thing."He muttered an 'O' and nodded. Once they were out of sight Naruto hung his head.

'I hope they haven't got sick of me already and abandoned me.'

**The Girl's Bathroom**

Ino and Sakura yanked Hinata in the bathroom. Once inside, Sakura locked the door and Ino prodded, or rather, shoved Hinata towards the farthest corner of the bathroom. Hinata was shocked at the girls' hostility. They stood in front of her, arms crossed. "Hinata what are you doing with Naruto-Kun?" Ino asked, none too polite. Surprisingly Hinata didn't lower her head. She looked straight at Sakura and Ino and said, "Why do you need to know? I'm just returning a favor." This threw them off a bit.

"Favor, what favor?" Naruto-kun hasn't told us about any favors!" Ino yelled. Sakura remained silent but she was visibly seething with fury.

Hinata began explaining the situation: "A few days ago we bumped into each other and fell. Naruto pulled my necklace and knocked both of us over. When we got up and looked at each other, I felt my heart thump. An overwhelming need to touch him filled my body. I escaped as fast as I could to stop myself from blushing and stuttering around him and just today he came to return the necklace. You probably don't know this but that necklace is a very valuable Hyūga heirloom. My father probably would've punished me if he hadn't stood up for me. He comforted me when everyone thought I was weak for crying. He stood up for me when I wouldn't do it myself. Every time I'm around him I feel safe and happy. I think- no **I know** I'm in love with him."

They were stunned. Until Ino, once again, broke the silence. "Wait. You can't be in love with him. Forehead and I are in love with him. He's **our boyfriend!**" She yelled. Sakura was shaking with anger as tears filled her emerald eyes.

"Well it looks like you girls got some competition. Even though he doesn't know it, I've seen him before. Ever since I was younger I always used to admire him. When I was about six my mother took me clothes' shopping and we saw him. Naruto's clothes were torn and stained and he tried to buy some new ones from the shop we were at. The shop keeper spat on him then kicked Naruto on the street but not before she told him to get lost and die. My heart broke at the thought of any one being abused so badly and we never went near that place again. My admiration of him only grew and in my free time I began to follow him and the way people treated him was horrible but I was amazed at how he took it all." She said bitterly as her eyes filled with tears.

Sakura spoke for the first time they were in there. "Well now that we've all confessed we love Naruto I have something to say. I don't care if you beat me, tease me, embarrass me, hate me, fight me, or kill me. One thing is absolutely sure. I will **never** give up on Naruto. I finally found someone who loves me for all of my flaws, especially those that I think most prominent but he thinks are gorgeous and I love him just as much. So don't think I'm ever going to give up on him. Kyūbi or not, I will **always** love **Naruto**." declared Sakura. Everyone, even Sakura was shocked by what she said.

"Well that was weird." They said in unison. Each girl looked from one to the other and laughed. When they finished laughing Ino said, "This is so messed up. We're all in love with Naruto. I really don't want to compete against you guys since you're actually my friends. I wish there was another way." Hinata sighed and responded, "Yeah me too. I love Naruto but losing our friendship and Naruto is just too much. I pray to Kami that there's another way."

"I know another way!" said Sakura. Hinata and Ino whipped around to face the recently silent girl. "Y-You do? Wh-What is it?" They stuttered, thinking it too good to be true as Sakura looked from one girl to the other.

"Well we could always...share." Sakura stated. The idea was so simple and yet so brilliant. Each girl gets to spend time with Naruto, they retain their friendship, nobody gets their heart broken, and Naruto is happy. They were all thinking 'Why didn't we suggest this sooner?' Hinata looked at Ino and Sakura, practically glowing.

"I think it's a great idea. So are you girls in or out?" She asked playfully. Sakura smirked and said, "You know I'm in. After all it was my idea." They turned to Ino. "What about you Ino? You willing to share with us?" They asked simultaneously. A mischievous grin spread across her face. "You girls know I'm in. I'm not going to let you two have Naruto all by yourself. You'd guys probably die of boredom without me." Stated Ino. The tension in the room disappeared and the girls were giggling uncontrollably. Ino was the first to recover her eyes filled with tears of mirth.

"OK. So how are we going to tell Naruto he has another girlfriend?" She said while trying to keep a straight face, keyword **trying** and _failing_. She nearly lost her composure thinking of Naruto's facial expression when they told him the news. Once they had their laughter in check, Sakura spoke up. "We have to break it to him gently and slowly. You know boys never get it the first time." said Sakura. They nodded in agreement and came up with a plan to tell Naruto.

**With Naruto**

Naruto was fidgeting in his seat. The girls had been in the bathroom for twenty minutes and he was wondering if they would ever come out. But in the back of his mind a small yet firm voice said

'**Maybe they left you. Maybe they got tired of you and the glares from the villagers. After all who would want to hang with you? You're the demon child.**_'_

'No. No you're wrong. Sakura and Ino would never abandon me. And Hinata and I share something in common. They wouldn't leave me, I know they wouldn't. We need each other to cover one another's weaknesses and build each other's strength_._' Naruto thought.

'**W****e'll see brat. We'll see.**'

Naruto started to panic now. What if the voice is right? What if they used that bathroom excuse to get away from him? What if they were tired of him? Tears started to form in Naruto's eyes. He fought desperately to prevent them from spilling. No use. He put his head in his hands and cried.

**With The Girls**

Hinata, Ino, and Sakura arrived at their table to a scene they never wanted to see. Naruto silently crying his heart out muttering about how everyone had abandoned him. **Their** Naruto was crying over them, he thought **they** abandoned **him**. Just watching the scene made the girls want to cry too. And sure enough tears spilled down their faces and their hearts thumped loudly. They walked over and Hinata cradled Naruto's head to her chest. She ran her fingers through his golden blond hair and whispered "We'd never abandon you Naruto-kun. We love you." Naruto who went into shock when she cradled his head was even more shocked when she said those three words.

'We love you.' His heart leapt and his face burned from embarrassment. How could he think they'd leave him? All coherent thought disappeared when Hinata kissed his cheek. He looked up at her, a beautiful and genuine smile on her face. Naruto turned to look at Ino and Sakura who were smiling encouragingly. Soon he couldn't stop himself from smiling either. After Naruto paid for their meal, he led them to his secret clearing. Hinata was in awe as Naruto led her to the huge cherry blossom tree. They cuddled up to Naruto for warmth. Ino on his left, with his arm around her shoulders and Hinata on his right in the same position. Sakura's head against his warm chest lying between his legs. His large jacket provided extra warmth and protection.

'I could get used to this.'


	5. Happy Birthday

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Five**

**Happy Birthday**

**Yamanaka Residence (Ino's Room)**

Sakura and Ino were fidgeting on Ino's bed anxiously, waiting for Hinata. The room walls were a light purple color with flower prints randomly placed around the room. The bed had a lilac furry comforter with dark violet shaggy pillows. There was a wooden desk with a PC and various papers on it. Several pictures were placed on top of her dresser. The first was of her parents and Ino herself. The next one was of Sakura, Ino and Hinata at the beach, laughing while splashing water on each other.

The picture was taken when Hinata's mother was still alive. Their parents would meet once a month on the beach because they were all friends before the kids were ever born. Their friendship passed to their children and Hinata was more socialistic when her mom was alive. After she died Hinata started to avoid people and retreated into herself. It was the leading cause for her shyness and soft-spoken demeanor. 'Best Friends Forever' was scrawled on the back of the picture in purple, pink, and blue marker. The third picture was one of very young Naruto who would reveal how he got it. All he said was that he wanted the girls' to have it and they all agreed it would be kept at Ino's until they went out for new pictures with their Naruto-Kun.

There were only two other doors in the room. One led to a lilac designed bathroom and the other a large walk-in closet. Sakura's patience was wearing thin, which is surprising since she's usually the calm one. "Damn that Hinata. Where is she?" she snarled. Normally it wouldn't be the type of language one would expect to hear from an eight year old much less a clan heir. But the Harunos never really cared about the double standards of society.

**"CHA! She should have been here by now." **Remarked Inner Sakura.

Ino, as if reading Sakura's mind or Inner Sakura's for that matter, said "If she doesn't get here soon we'll just have to start." Just then there was a loud crash and the sound of someone running up the stairs. Ino's door was nearly ripped of the hinge when someone opened it to reveal the girl of the hour, Hinata. She looked completely flustered. Her face was cherry red, lavender hair tousled, and breathing short. "I'm sorry I'm late. On the way here I met Naruto-Kun and had to make up an excuse to get away." Hinata stated. They took in her appearance. "We believe you but what happened to you? You look like you just came from the middle of war." Ino said barely concealing her giggles. Of course that would be the first conclusion people would come to if someone looked like that. Well not the _first_ conclusion but perhaps the most logical one. The other might be something similar to...

**"If I didn't know better I would say she was sneaking around with Naruto-Kun."**

Sakura retaliated. 'Shut it you! Hinata-Chan is our friend. She would never do that!'

**"Hmm, maybe I should give her the benefit of the doubt. But if she did sneak around with Naruto-kun, I'll give her a piece of my mind. Shannaro!"**

Hinata put on an expression of mock offense and said, "He was hard to shake off. You'd be surprised by how persistent Naruto-Kun is. Just one of the many reasons we love him." The girl's eyes got a glazed look and dreamy expressions came on their face and even Inner Sakura was out of it, a tint of red spreading on her face like wildfire. Hinata continued, "I told Naruto-Kun father sent me to deliver some clan papers. I don't think he believed me but he didn't follow me. We've been so wrapped up with his party we don't even take time for Naruto anymore. He probably thinks we're avoiding him; again." Hinata said softly as they hung their heads.

"Well we won't have to worry about it anymore since the party's tomorrow. We are going to make this the best birthday Naruto has ever had. We'll just have to pull through for him. Tomorrow is going to be the best day ever." Ino said with a resolve. With new determination the girls started to finalize the preparations for the best birthday party Konoha has ever seen.

**The Next Day, 1:00 PM (Haruno Residence)**

Sakura gave herself a once over in the mirror. 'Well it doesn't look too bad. Do you think Naruto-kun will like it' she asked Inner Sakura.

'**CHA. Naruto-kun will love it. Besides Naruto wouldn't care if we were dressed in rags. He'd still think we're one of the hottest girls to walk the earth.'**

Sakura was donned in a pink kimono with Sakura petals stitched randomly, yet elegantly so, around the form hugging article. Pink stilettos were fastened by baby pink silk scarves that wrapped neatly around her calves. Stunning, would best describe her appearance right now. With that in mind, Sakura nodded her head slightly and walked towards the door of her bedroom. She took one last look at the pink graced room and left out of the door.

She calmly walked out of the front door. Sakura sped up her pace to head towards the party to be held at the park.

**Hyūga Residence**

Hinata was nervous. Her palms were sweating slightly and her mouth was dry. Her eyes were alert and fearful and her knees were trembling. She was dressed in a sky blue kimono, delicate lilies and tulips etched in a flowing pattern around her kimono. On her feet she wore light blue high heels, tied firmly yet comfortably with connected straps. Around her neck was her mother's necklace, polished and repaired to perfection. She checked herself in a mirror and was instantly satisfied with her reflection. She walked towards her bedroom door, pausing to look at her appearance once more.

'Naruto-Kun. I hope you like this dress, because I picked it out just for you.' Hinata walked out of the door and out of the gates.

**Yamanaka Residence**

Ino smoothed the wrinkles of her violet kimono with a stitched silk floral pattern. The bright purple shoes around her feet fit snugly, enhancing the definition of her smooth calves. Her long, platinum blond flowing hair reaching down to her waist curling slightly at the end. Walking over to the full length mirror in a corner of the room Ino gave herself a once over.

'No wrinkles on dress. Check. Shoes fastened and polished. Check. Hair smooth and tangle-free. No spinach in teeth.'

Ino checked for spinach five times before she realized she didn't eat spinach this morning. (AN. She occasionally has one of her blonde moments.) 'Check. Minty Breath.' She took a couple mints from her bedside dresser and swallowed them. 'Check. Time.' She glanced at the clock. '1:00 P.M... I'm going to be late better hurry.' Ino walked out the room and outside.

**The Konoha Recreational Park, 1:07 P.M**

Naruto sat patiently on a park bench. His hair was lightly ruffled from a smooth breeze. The fingers lashing out against his golden hair. He was dressed in a black tux with an unbuttoned dress shirt. Underneath the dress shirt was a white tank top. On his feet were black leather boots buffed, polished, and freshened. If you're close enough you'll smell the scent of fresh leather, newly cut and polished wood, and pine. Around his neck was a loose black tie. Said blond was very nervous though he hid it well. All three of his girlfriends seemed to be avoiding him lately, then just yesterday they appeared at the ramen stand telling(more like demanding) him to meet them at The Konoha Park. And to top it off they threatened to make the Hokage ban him from the ramen stand if he was late (apparently punctuation is crucial). Naruto doubted that they could do that but something about their expressions told him to listen. That and he didn't want to take a chance with his precious ramen.

So that leads to Naruto's current predicament. He made sure he was on time and even arrived five minutes before hand. Naruto checked the time on a clock tower near the park entrance. '1:07. It looks like they might be late. I hope nothing happened to them!' thought Naruto as he started to worry. Suddenly the sound of running and panting reached Naruto's ears. After a few seconds the running slowed and the pants turned into deep, long breaths as Ino, Sakura, and Hinata appeared from around the corner. He looked up and ogled at them for thirty seconds before his mind processed what he was doing, causing him lowering his head out of embarrassment. The 3 girls blushed as well while thinking one thing.

'Well they do have taste I'll give them that. This is going to be easy._'_

Naruto gets up and walks over to them stopping about two feet away. He puts on his trademark fox grin and looks at the ground. Scratching the back of his head he says "What no hug? You did miss me right? 'Cause I know I missed you." His voice was pleading with an undercurrent of sorrow. It was obvious that they did indeed miss him and made sure he knew it. After a few moments, they pulled away leaving a flustered and breathless Naruto. Pink, Blue, and Lavender lip gloss kiss marks were spread everywhere around Naruto's face except his lips. Ino walked up to Naruto, gave him a light kiss on the forehead, and whispered "Of course we missed you. And we're sorry it seemed like we were avoiding you but we were busy with clan stuff. You know we'd rather spend time with you then doing stupid paperwork right?" Naruto nodded and put on a heartwarming smile.

Sakura and Hinata smiled and each held one of his hands in both of theirs. Ino decided she wanted a piggyback ride so she climbed on Naruto's shoulders. The girls on the ground led him towards the forest. Naruto danger senses were tingling lightly but he ignored them, after all Ino, Sakura, and Hinata wouldn't betray him would they?

**20 Minutes Later**

By now Naruto's danger senses were out of control and he was starting to get nervous. They'd been walking twenty minutes and have only gone into what he assumed was the deepest and most isolated part of the forest as he could barely see anything and he couldn't hear any wildlife. He turned to Hinata. "Hina-Chan, are we going the right way?" Naruto asked. She blushed at the name.

"We're almost there. Just a few more minutes." She replied. Naruto nodded, while his danger senses were sky rocketing off the charts. A few minutes later they reached a decent sized clearing. It was bordered by thick trees the smallest at least 30 feet tall and 7 ft wide. Around the trees were large bushes.

'The perfect place to see but not be seen' He said quietly to himself.

"Naruto." said Ino. Naruto snapped out of his musings and looked at her. He now noticed they were some 4 yards away from him and their faces were unreadable. He was getting concerned, wondering why they were so far away and why were their faces emotionless. "Gomen, Ino-chan. Is this the place? And why are you all the way over there? Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, concerned about the girls.

"You demon are what's wrong." said a voice behind him. Naruto turned around saw villagers and shinobi alike emerging from the bushes and trees around the clearing. He counted around thirty villagers and twelve fully fledged shinobi in the mob. He turned towards the girls and said "You knew about this didn't you?"

"We did what we were told. Everything was planned from when and how we met you to now. It was all planned even our emotions were practiced to fool you." Hinata replied boldly, rather uncharacteristically. Naruto looked at the girls then the mob and back to them again."Oh." was all he said. A shinobi in a Chūnin vest walked over to Naruto grabbing him in a headlock while holding a knife at his neck. "You may leave girls. You have done your jobs and your clans shall be informed of your success." They nodded but before leaving they took one last look at Naruto. To say the girls were surprised to see Naruto smiling at them would be an understatement.

Shock and unnerved are more accurate words to describe them. His smile held no malice, hate, anger, nor even sorrow. Naruto's smile, just like his eyes, held only understanding, peace, pride, encouragement and-, this one surprised them, love? They shook their heads, thinking they were imagining things, and looked at him again. Nothing changed; the love in his eyes was unmistakable. Ino shivered a little from a cold breeze. (It was nowhere near as cold as the mob's attitude towards Naruto) Before the ninja holding him pressed the knife firmly into his throat, making a small line of blood appear. "Shut up you demon's spawn. Don't talk to the honorable clan heirs. They do not wish to associate with such filth as you. Bobu-San, Deko-San escort Yamanaka-Sama, Haruno-Sama, and Hyūga-Sama home please."

The two sentries walked up to them and said "Follow us please." Before turning away and walking out of the forest.

Said girls stood there shocked beyond belief. Staring at Naruto their mouths open and eyes wide. Many thoughts running through their heads.

"Please, Yamanaka-Sama, Hyūga-Sama, Haruno-Sama we must leave now." said Bobu.

The three girls didn't protest when they were shepherded out of the forest. Once out of the mob's sights they heard sounds you would normally expect to hear in war. Their eyes started to tear up while a sharp pain went through their hearts. Desperately the clutched at their chest while fighting back the tears. In their minds they knew that with Kyūbi or not, there was a .00009 chance that he would come out of the forest alive.

**Unknown Location**

Three small girls shriek for the lost of their love as they watched the proceedings in the field with grief. 'Ino', 'Sakura', and 'Hinata' from the field walked through the dungeon to see this unbearably sad scene. Their henges dropped to reveal Mikiko, Mimoko, and Mikoto Uchiha, Fugaku and Mikoto's only set of triplets.

As that thought sunk in they had a feeling, whether from guilt or trauma or something else, they had a feeling that if Naruto died then so would a piece of them.


	6. The Truth

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Six**

**The Truth**

* * *

_**Flashback:**_

* * *

**_October 10th, 2010, Clan District, Hyūga Mansion (1:02 P.M.)_**

* * *

_After saying a rushed goodbye to her father, Hinata ran out the door and down the front steps towards the gates. Just a she was opening the gate a presence appeared behind her and clamped a hand over her mouth, the other put her in a headlock. She tried to scream but the arm around her head tightened and her kidnapper spoke._

_"Listen here princess, don't try screaming or else I'll rip your head clean off your shoulders." The person said in a deep, slightly husk voice that could only belong to a male. Hinata instantly stopped trying to scream but her will was pushed when she felt the stranger run his tongue along the side of her neck._

_"You know it's too bad you're not a bit older or else we could have some fun and I could show what it's like to be with a real man and not that demon brat they call a human." He said in a cold, animistic voice, dripping with wanton lust and poor restraint._

_It took all her will power to stop from screaming and not throw up, but she couldn't suppress a shudder as the cold chill from his voice ran down her spine._

_Hinata closed her eyes wishing she was with her Naruto-Kun. She felt herself being lifted off the ground she opened her eyes to see the streets of Konoha. The man had carelessly slung her across his shoulder as they jumped from building to building at a high speed._

_She was so far up the people on the roads and alleys below looked like little dots so she knew they couldn't see her being kidnapped. Their surroundings began to change dramatically and Hinata noticed that they were heading towards the direction of the Uchiha clan district._

_A sudden dizziness began to overtake Hinata; she closed her eyes and held her head. She felt the man slow down gradually before jumping and coming to a complete stop. Lifting her head up Hinata looked at a puddle on the ground to see where she was without alerting the man._

_The puddle reflected a building with the Uchiha crest painted above the entrance, confirming her suspicions that they were indeed in the Uchiha district._

_Suddenly Hinata heard heavy footsteps as someone began to walk over towards her kidnapper and began speaking in a cold, authoritative voice. Tilting her body as far as she could without alerting either man to her consciousness, Hinata tried to get a better angle of the puddles reflection to see the newcomer._

_She gasped when she saw the newcomer's face. It was none other than Uchiha Fugaku having a developing heated argument with the kidnapper. As she listened to their heated conversation she heard her name being said a few times._

_By the end of the discussion the kidnapper seemed to be anything but happy as anger clearly showed on his face. Fugaku began to lead them into the building obviously indicating for her to be left in here. The man walked down the steps leading to the lower area of the room then carelessly tossed her in a corner. She yelped as sharp rocks on the ground grazed her hands, leaving shallow cuts on her palms._

_Hinata screamed as the man pulled her hair back and turned her head to face him, his other hand roughly holding her chin. He began to caress her cheek roughly before speaking in a cold, lusting, and deprived tone. "You know you're lucky Uchiha-Sama is interested in having you conditioned as a bride for his youngest son or else there would be nothing stopping me from having you. But I will warn you this, when you're alone in a dark alley, or lost and the woods, hell even if you're alone in your own room, there will be nothing stopping me from getting to you."_

_His hand trailed down her neck coming extremely close to the top of her dress, and it would've gone lower had the door not opened, causing the man to pull away from Hinata as a guard walked in and asked if everything was alright. He replied yes and both walked back out the door. Hinata lay there shocked and scared as his words ran though her mind. Unknown to her tears were beginning to form and roll down her cheeks._

_After a few minutes she broke out of her shock and noticed the tears flowing down her face._

**_'Was I crying?'_** _She thought._

The door opened and a shot of fear pumped through her veins as she saw it was the kidnapper again this time with two bodies across his shoulders. Hinata recognized them as Ino and Sakura when they started kicking and screaming for the man to let them go. Just as he did her, he threw them down into the room before leaving swiftly slamming the door behind him. "Sakura, Ino?" Hinata said quietly, squinting her eyes in the dark cell.

They turned towards her, their eyes widening as they were surprised she was hear. "Hinata what are you doing here? What's going on, do you know? And where's Naruto-Kun? You don't' think this has anything to do with him do you?" asked Ino, as she and Sakura watched her reaction.

"I think that it probably does have something to do with Naruto-Kun Ino, otherwise they wouldn't have brought all of us here. I was kidnapped and brought here, somewhere in the Uchiha Estate. And from what I can guess their probably holding us captive because they are going to do something to Naruto-Kun that's probably going to hurt him and they didn't want us, the clan heirs, to get in the cross fire or else it would look suspicious." She replied.

They heard sniffling and looked to see Sakura crying. Immediately they rushed over to their friend and wrapped their arms around her, saying comforting words as the salty tears spilled on their dresses. Sakura spoke up, her voice cracking with every syllable. "Why? Why Naruto-Kun? Everything bad always happens to him. No one ever wants him or us to be happy together. Every time something good happens to him it always gets taken away." Sakura whispered quietly. Neither Ino nor Hinata replied because they couldn't deny the truth of her words. So they just held each other as tears fell down their faces falling asleep and hoping to wake up from a bad dream.

* * *

**_Uchiha Estate, Isolated Building (1:10 P.M.)  


* * *

_**

The girls were awoken by the loud creak of the door and they suddenly found themselves facing members of the Uchiha main family. Fugaku looked at them with a cold and uncaring gaze. The next members surprised them, because they were Fugaku's and Mikoto's only set of triplets, Mikiko, Mimoko, and Mikoto Uchiha, fidgeting nervously as they watched Hinata, Ino, and Sakura. Taking in their appearance and behavior the difference in age between the 6 girls was around 2-3 years. The last and youngest member present was Sasuke who was staring down at them with a smirk on his face.

The girls (Hinata, Sakura, and Ino) wore identical looks of disgust at Sasuke's arrogant gaze. Fugaku noticed this and reprimanded them for it. "Sasuke, focus on the task at hand and stop getting off-track. They are not yours yet." said Fugaku. This wiped the smirk off of Sasuke's face as he looked down at his feet, after being embarrassed by his father.

"Yes, Tousan (father). It won't happen again." He replied. His father stared coldly at him for a moment before turning towards the Sakura, Ino, and Hinata, who were acting rather smug.

"You three it would be wise to show more respect to your superiors. After all you are arranged to be married to Sasuke." Fugaku said, sending them a withering glaze. The smirk returned to Sasuke's face and the air smugness surrounding them disappeared in a heartbeat.

"Are you crazy!" shouted Hinata, shocking everyone in the vicinity of the room, as she rarely shouted or yelled about anything. The Uchiha especially since they're not used to being talked back to. "We're with Naruto-Kun and will always be with him. If there was an arranged marriage between our clans, the clan elders would have notified us even if that were true we would never leave Naruto-Kun." The Uchiha clan head face turned red as his temper rose.

"LISTEN YOU UNGRATEFUL BRATS; YOU SHALL NEVER TALK BACK TO ME. I AM UCHIHA, NOT JUST ANY UCHIHA, THE UCHIHA. I RULE EVERYTHING IN THIS VILLAGE; NO ONE IN THIS VILLAGE SO MUCH AS SNEEZES WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE. THE ONLY REASON YOUR PRECIOUS DEMON BRAT IS STILL ALIVE IS BECAUSE HE HAS TRICKED THAT SENILE, OLD HOKAGE INTO THINKING HE'S HARMLESS. BUT THAT'S ALL GOING TO CHANGE COME THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN MY PATH TO TOTAL POWER OF THE VILLAGE IS CLEAR FROM THAT DAMNED DEMON. ONCE IT IS REMOVED TOTAL CONTROL WILL BE MINE." yelled Fugaku, as sometime during his speech he had activated his Mangeykou, possibly due to the uncontrolled anger and hatred expressed during his tirade. After taking a deep breath, Fugaku opened his eyes and glared at the three girls who were huddled together in the corner of the room, trembling from fright.

He allowed himself a victorious smirk, a sense a malicious satisfaction spreading through his body as he watched the cowering girls. Focusing back on the task at hand, his face took on a cold, and focused expression as he twisted his head towards his daughters. They nodded back before turning to look towards Ino, Sakura, and Hinata. The three siblings made a pattern of hand signs that the other three girls had only seen or read about in books. White walls of chakra surrounded the female Uchiha siblings and when it disappeared everyone in the room, exclude the Uchiha, were awed and shocked by what they saw. Standing in front of them were the former three Uchiha siblings under a henge, which made them look exactly like Ino, Sakura, Hinata, right to lines and hair on their skin.

Their henges were absolutely and impeccably flawless, if things were in different circumstances, the three girls would think that the Uchiha siblings were actually their long, lost twins. But then their more logical side kicked in and they felt stomachs drop to the bottom of their feet as feeling of dread washed over them. The Uchiha and nearly all of the village hates Naruto and wants him dead, and they were kidnapped on the day were to surprise Naruto with a party; soon to be imitated by impostors, who were 3 of Fugaku's own children. Adding that they were the closest people to Naruto's heart, there was no doubt that today would be forever etched in their minds though not in a good way.

"Today you are about to witness the cleansing of Konoha from its only impurity. The only flaw on this Picasso of civilization. The only seemingly minor yet constantly exploited blemish in the Mona Lisa of the shinobi nations. For only after the damned demon is rid of will The Hidden Leaf Village finally be the perfect shinobi nation in all of the lands. And you will witness all of this in here from a front line view. Have fun watching the cleansing, because I know I will." Said Fugaku sinisterly, as he let out a dark and malicious chuckle, the Mangeykou Sharningan activated.

With the snap of his finger a wall of black, sinister chakra appeared and projected the entrance to The Konoha Recreational Park. They saw Naruto fidgeting on a park bench as he glanced everywhere presumably for his dates. The three girls came to the conclusion that somehow Fugaku had conjured up a live time feed of Naruto's whereabouts' and was probably going to put his evil plan in action very soon. Though the three didn't know exactly what his plan was, they knew that whatever it was it was going to cause Naruto unbearable pain and them as well.

Hinata, Ino, and Sakura found their attention and eyes glued to the chakra projection as they anxiously watched their love. A few minutes later they saw their impostors approach Naruto. When they began to kiss Naruto, the girls became furious when they saw the three siblings grab their Naruto in a not so innocent way.

'Who the hell dot those bitches think they are touching our Naruto like that?' They thought simultaneously.

It seemed as if the Jutsu Fugaku used to watch Naruto was a tagging Jutsu of a sort, being as if Naruto moved the scene would follow him. Thirty minutes into watching the feed a feeling of despair and fear surrounded the three kidnapped girls as they watched the 'Ino', 'Hinata', and 'Sakura' with Naruto, lead him deep within the forest. As they watched the three, lead Naruto into a secluded field they felt their hearts drop as Fugaku's true plan began to reveal itself. Out of nowhere they saw people armed with weapons and other tools used to inflict pain surround themselves around Naruto. As they watch their three replicas break Naruto's heart apart slowly by saying they set him up and played him for a fool.

Tears fell from the three's eyes as they watched the scene unfold and their hearts break because they knew, Naruto thought everything that the imposters were saying was really coming from the true Hinata, Sakura, and Ino. Suddenly a man appeared behind Naruto and held a knife to his neck, cutting through the skin as a trail of blood leaked down his neck. The man motioned for two others and Sakura, Ino, and Hinata instantly recognized as the former sentries that used to guard the Clan Residence Gate. They were stripped of their ranks for lying to the clan heads and the Hokage, also charged with disclosing an SSS ranked secret. Though most of the shinobi council called for their immediate termination from the ninja ranks, the civilian council was opposed to this. The civilians outnumber the ninja in council and it was decided the 2 sentries would be on temporary suspension for 2 months.

As the three girls looked into Naruto's face they saw nothing but love in his eyes. The tears came down their faces more quickly as they saw even after "their betrayal" that Naruto-Kun still loved them. The two sentries escorted the Uchiha from the field and back towards their home. But as they were leaving Ino, Hinata, and Sakura could have swore they saw tears on their faces, but their attention quickly focused back onto their love as the mob completely surrounded him before attacking.

Three small girls shriek for the lost of their love as they watched the proceedings in the field with grief. 'Ino', 'Sakura', and 'Hinata' from the field walked through the dungeon to see this unbearably sad scene. Their henges dropped to reveal Mikiko, Mimoko and Mikoto. The real Ino, Sakura, and Hinata were crying waterfalls as they saw Naruto being stabbed straight through the heart, the tip of the sword poking out of his back. Their brain instantly registered that there was no way Naruto could be taken to the hospital and healed before he lost too much blood. To make it worse he thought they were the ones that betrayed him.

As that thought sunk in they had a feeling, whether from guilt or trauma or something else, they had a feeling that if Naruto died then so would a piece of them, causing more tears to spill from their eyes. The three heard the door open and had they bothered to look up they would have seen the rest of the Uchiha family enter the dungeon. Hinata, Sakura, and Ino huddled together comforting each other as their eyes downcast, and tears soaking through their clothes as they mourned for the loss of their love. Their sobs echoed throughout the dungeon the only sound in the depressing room for Fugaku had long ago terminated the chakra screen and disconnected the live feed that formerly monitored Naruto.

Soon their tears were all dried up and Sakura looked up only to face the entire Uchiha main family, but this time instead of just Fugaku, the triplets, and Sasuke. Mikoto, Itachi, and the newest and youngest family member of the Uchiha family, Kataru Uchiha. The young baby couldn't have been older than 6 months old. As Ino, Sakura, and Hinata's eyes landed on the triplets waves of rage and killing intent rolled off of their bodies as they directed their towards the siblings. Mimoko's, Mikiko's, and Mikoto's (daughter) eyes widened as they saw the hatred burning in their eyes. Ino launched herself at the triplets screaming bloody murder; the other two were barely able to restrain her.

"You bitches, wait until I get my hands on you. I'll fucking kill you, you hear me, I'll kill you. Let me go Hinata and Sakura, let me go." She screamed in rage fighting to tooth to get loose and attack the three girls.

"Stop it, Ino! Stop!" screamed Sakura wincing as Ino scratched her arm.

"Ino, stop it! Naruto wouldn't like you attacking anybody no matter what they did. Please Ino think of Naruto!" Hinata screamed, quieting Ino's screeches and struggling instantly as soon as she brought up Naruto's name. Ino was completely still as her eyes began to water remembering the smiling and kind face of her boyfriend. Once they were sure Ino wasn't going to attack anymore, Sakura and Hinata let her go. The two looked up to see Mikoto looking at them sadly, sympathetically, and slightly furiously as Ino had threatened her daughter; while Kataru looked on curiously, clearly not understanding a single word. Fugaku was furious at the obvious disrespect Ino showed threatening his daughters right in front of his face.

Sasuke and Itachi (13) were just as surprised as their father at Ino's outburst. The triplets on the other hand were cowering behind their mother, hoping she could protect them from Ino. Suddenly the door to the dungeon burst open and in came Hiashi, Inoichi, and Sakori (Sakura's father) with furious expressions engraved onto their faces.

"Hinata, Ino, Sakura, are you three alright?" asked Hiashi, his voice barely controlled as he and the other fathers glared intensely at Fugaku. The three ran over to each of their fathers before hugging them and sobbing into their shirts.

"Father, Naruto-Kun, he's dead." Sobbed Hinata. Hiashi rubbed her hair softly tightening his grip around her.

"We saw it, daddy. The whole thing." Ino said, her voice muffled by her father's jacket.

"It was horrible, dad. They tortured him, it was unbearable to watch." Said Sakura, looking at her father inquisitively with watery eyes.

As their daughter's cried, all three fathers turned towards Fugaku, with looks that promised severe, intense pain.

"Fugaku, what is the meaning of this? Kidnapping our daughters, over a little clan rivalry, attempting to kill an innocent child over something he has no control of?" Inoichi gritted out, anger and hate laced in every syllable. Ino shifted her head slightly before looking at her father's face, sorrow and confusion all over her face.

"But daddy, Naruto died, we saw him when, when he-." She couldn't finish because more tears fell down her face as she hid in her father's coat. The three led their daughter's outside but not before indicating for four ANBU to watch Fugaku to make sure he didn't go anywhere. They walked about 100 meters from the small building before one of them spoke.

"Actually, no he didn't Ino. He's how we knew you were here in the first place. Naruto's at the hospital being operated on right now, as we speak." Said Sakori, rubbing his daughter's back in a fatherly way.

All three girls looked up at their father, with surprise in their eyes.

"Fa-Father ar-are you se-ser- serious?" Asked Sakura, as all eyes directed to his father.

"Hai, Sakura, when we noticed you three had disappeared, we became worried and thought you just went out with Naruto for his birthday, because we heard you three talking about throwing him a birthday party. So we all decided to wait at Hiashi's until you came back but then a while later the Hokage came and told us that Naruto had been found, attacked and sustaining life threatening injuries and was in an extremely critical condition at the hospital;. We went searching for you three immediately, thinking they had kidnapped and injured you three as well."

"Using Hiashi's Byakugan we found sensed your three chakra signatures near here so we scouted the area and saw Fugaku walking around suspiciously, so we followed him, assuming he had something to do with your disappearance. We saw him heading into the building and called for backup, hence the ANBU. And after that everything is pretty self-explanatory." Finished Sakori.

"Father, can we please go to see Naruto?" asked Hinata desperately. Hiashi nodded before calling over a fifth ANBU to tell him they'll be right back. The ANBU nodded and said something to Hiashi, to which Hiashi also nodded before turning back to his daughter.

"Let us go, we may make it by the time they finish the surgery if we hurry. Perhaps we may even be able to see Naruto." He said.

They let their daughters climb on their back before speeding off to the Konoha Hospital.


	7. Naruto Namikaze

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Seven**

**Namikaze Naruto**

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**_Saturday, October 16th, Konohagakure Hospital, Emergency Surveillance Ward (7:43 A.M.)

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_

**Beep**

The sound of a high pitched ring echoes through the room, shattering the once intense silence like broken glass.

**Beep, Beep**

Bruises, scabs, burn marks, cuts, and many other inflictions cover the body of a lone child.

**Beep, Beep, Beep**

Things were even worse on the inside than the exterior appeared, with a bruised stomach, punctured lungs, an on-off bleeding liver and a weak pulse that could give out any minute.

**Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep**

Despite all the bruises and wires and internal/external injuries, his breath was calm and steady as though he just came from a late night jog.

**Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep...**

Three girls on the brink of exhaustion fought sleep but their eye lids began to grow heavier and try as they might to fight and remain awake to watch Naruto, their need for sleep eventually won as their eyes began to close and tense muscles relax. Suddenly they were awoken by a loud beeping from the heart monitor; they jumped up and faced the monitor as the line that depicted brain activity skyrocketed, as his heart beat increased at the same rate. Looking at Naruto they saw his face was twisted up in agony as he thrashed around in his bed opening his mouth to scream but no sound coming out. Immediately they ran at Naruto to try and suspend him to the bed but were blocked by an invisible shield of chakra.

A distinctly red and sinister chakra began to surround him causing the thrashing to increase. The data displayed on the monitors were off the chart as they let off continuous shriek, the chakra fought for control of Naruto's body. When it looked like things were heading south, a strong burst of blue chakra flooded Naruto's body, the entire room, and the hospital.

It overtook the red chakra causing it to spread throughout the village allowing the residents to feel a massive amount of hatred, killing intent, blood lust, anger, and sinister intentions before disappearing completely. Naruto's fidgeting began to stop as his heart rate and brain activity began to stabilize. Sakura, Hinata, and Ino rushed over to him as the shield had disappeared into the blue settled as they gazed chakra. They felt his heart beat slower than before but slightly faster than normal as his breathing into the face of their beloved hoping their prayers had been answered.

Slowly a pair of neon blue eyes opened for the first time in weeks adjusting to the lighting in the bright room before gazing into the flushed and tears streaked faces of his most precious people. A playful, foxy smile graced his face as he spoke for the first time. "Wow, I must have died and gone to heaven because I'm surrounded by angels." Naruto said, in a slightly rough and cracked voice. He was clomped by them as they laid gentle kisses on every inch of his cheeks and forehead being careful to avoid the wires or cause him any discomfort. The top of his hospital robe was beginning as the tears of his angels dropped onto it. All the emotion they kept locked within them was set free as they cried.

By the time it was over Naruto was soaked above the upper waist but he couldn't be any happier as he held god's angels between his arms. "Oh, Naruto-Kun we thought you'd never wake up. We were so scared. It wasn't us that betrayed you; it was the Uchiha Triplets under a henge to look like us." Ino said. "They kidnapped us Naruto-Kun, and then they made us watch when the mob attacked you." Added Sakura. "It's true Naru-Kun; we would never do that to you, ever!" Hinata exclaimed her voice muffled for she cuddled her face into his shoulder; Ino and Sakura who were also resting their heads against his other limbs. His heart swelled when he realized he was indeed still alive and with his angels. Naruto sat up slowly, being extra careful not to strain himself or open any stitched wounds.

When they felt Naruto try to sit up, the three girls moved off the bed to allow him more room to stretch. Using his hands to lift himself up, hissing when he felt pain in his hands before Naruto sat up completely with his back straight as he glanced around at his surroundings, his mobility extremely limited due to the many, hidden wires recording his vitals.

Even then it was still rather painful to move since his body was weakened from lack of nutrition and activity. Naruto gently slid over in his bed and indicated to the now empty spot on the bed to his right side where they sat next to Naruto, a bit more cautionary, when they saw his weakened condition. The girls were ecstatic their Naruto-Kun was well again (comparatively speaking) and able to function without too much hindrance. The door was opened and the hospital staff rushed in quickly checking the charts and monitor machines as the girls quickly stood off to the side so as to not interfere. As the head physician looked at print outs from the monitoring machines, expressing apparent shock at the data presented on the documents before shouting for his staff to unhook and carry him the exam room.

"By Kami people, move faster this is an emergency we have to get this kid's chakra coils checked as soon as possible. One of you go and fetch the residential seal specialists' team and tell them to drop everything and come immediately." He shouted before running into the hall, the remaining of his staff wheeling Naruto out into the hall following right behind the doctor. The girls followed behind them running at full speed to keep up just as they turned Naruto around a corner the last thing they saw before Naruto disappeared into the exam room was his worried expression as he glanced pleadingly at them as he disappeared. They let out a loud shriek and banged their fists against the door screaming for Naruto. The door opened and quickly shut as a woman in surgeons clothing came out and was nearly trampled when Hinata, Ino, & Sakura rushed up to her trying to get past the door.

The surgeon used her body to block the door frantically moving her hand to tell them to keep the noise down. "Please girls keep it down we are trying to do an urgent surgical procedure and silence is desperately needed." The Surgeon said.

"What are they doing to him?" Hinata asked, droplets of water streaking down the side of her cheeks, mirroring those of Sakura and Ino's.

'They must be really close to this boy if they're this torn up about it.' The Surgeon thought.

"The diagnostic results from the monitor showed a change we didn't expect in his recovery. We are going through a procedure to check and it will be brief but we have to do it quickly. It works best when the patient has an immediate exam as soon as the problem is discovered to make results as accurate as possible." She said, before offering them a gentle smile and returning to the exam room. The three heiresses huddled together as they waited anxiously for their Naruto to return back to them. Going through all they have over the last three days, the emotional and physical toil took forced their bodies to cope with it the only way it could; sleep.

_2 hours later,_

Naruto sat in his hospital bed forlornly glancing at the door. Hinata, Ino, and Sakura were taken home when their father's found them asleep outside the exam room. He didn't get to see them because he was still being examined but when he was released into his hospital room, the nurse told him about the girls leaving. Twiddling his thumbs, Naruto let out a deep sigh, loneliness and boredom filling his head. Soon his mind started to wander and he began to remember the horrible nightmare he had before waking from his coma.

_Flashback: Same Day, Naruto's Mindscape (5:32 A.M.)_

_ Naruto found himself on a cold and wet concrete floor, surrounded by darkness, the sloshing of liquid beneath his fingers and feet. Slowly he stood up on his feet, holding his hands before his eyes trying to determine what was the substance covering his palms. Though he couldn't see he knew the substance was water._

_ "Hello? Is anybody there?" He asked nervously. Holding his hands out in front of him, he tried to feel his way around, taking slow, calculated steps. Around his left side he felt a rough and rocky surface he took to be a wall, feeling a slimy substance lining the crevices in a thick film. The smell of the darkness filled his nostrils and he coughed from the rotting and rancid scent. A faint red glow appeared about 10 feet in front of Naruto before disappearing. "Wait!" Naruto shouted, his feet splashing against the water as he ran to the dimly pulsing light. He found himself in what looked to be a dungeon, the echoing sounds of water dripping from the ceiling, was the loudest noise heard throughout the room._

_ Naruto shivered as a cold chill came over him, traveling down his back and making his sensitive neck hairs stand stiffly._

'_**Something's wrong with this place. Where am I?' **__Naruto thought._

_ Suddenly, Naruto heard a loud growl and saw the crimson light glowing brightly at the far end of the dungeon. It was surrounded by a prison cell and a thick mist appeared from what seemed like a creature letting out a deep breath. He apprehensively walked to the cage, being sure to walk as far along the wall as he could. Stopping in front of the cage, He noticed a damp, torn piece of paper with the kanji for seal written in dark ink. He squinted and the outline of a large mass was visible behind the bars, a furry cover over the hulking figure. A loud growl ripped through the silence of the room and frightened Naruto to fall on the ground. Moving beyond the bars of the cage, the figure began to stand on what Naruto saw to be four legs. He counted nine giant red tails swishing back and forth while the figure glowered hatefully at him, its mouth upturned in a vicious snarl, showing it's sharp, pointed teeth._

_ Naruto gulped loudly, scooting back against the wall as the creature thrashed loudly, using sheer force and struggling to get out of its cage, until it seemed the only thing preventing the cage from opening was the seal. Finally realizing it was useless, the creature, who Naruto now realized was a fox, stopped struggling and settled for growling angrily and staring spitefully at him._

'_**What kind of fox is this? It couldn't be the Nine Tailed Fox, could it? The 4**__**th**__** Hokage got rid of it!**__' Naruto thought._

_ The fox made a malicious sound that was similar to laughter as its great tails smashed against the walls of the cage. _

"_**You humans think you can seal a Bijū? Your species are even dumber meat sacks than I first thought. Don't tell me kid you don't know who I am? Some pathetic container you are.**__**" The fox said, grinning sinisterly.**_

_ Naruto stood up as realization of who the fox was dawned on him. _

"_You're, you're the Nine Tailed Fox, Kyūbi! I thought the Yondaime sealed you away!" Naruto sputtered out. Kyūbi laughed heartily, breathing harshly through his nose._

"_**You pathetic humans crack me up. The Yondaime did seal me, that's true but he sealed me in a newborn kid. If you have half the brain of a toddler you'd be able to figure out who the baby was that he sealed me in." Kyūbi snarled.**_

_ All the hateful words from the villagers and the constant abuse and hatred filled Naruto's mind as he put it all together and recognized the answer that's always been in front of him._

'_**I'm the jinchūriki for the Kyūbi. After all this time what I thought is actually true, the villager's are right, I am the Kyūbi!' **__Naruto thought, a bitter taste coming to his mouth._

_ Kyūbi growled loudly baring its fangs as it pressed against the bars, its claw reaching out to grab Naruto. Suddenly it let out a howl of pain, before retracting its claws, glaring at the now glowing seal._

"_**That damned meat sack! Why'd he have to seal me in such a puny human? You kit, don't you dare think you're me! I am the all powerful Kyūbi and no mortal can ever have an ounce of the power I possess in one tail. To call, a worthless kit such as you, ME is an insult. I refuse to sit here and let you and those damn villagers call yourself my reincarnate. The seal is weakened and I'm breaking out of this cell once and for all."**__** Kyūbi said, before thrashing madly around in the cage, breaking the walls of the cell down slowly and surely. **_

'_**So this is what its come to.' **__Naruto thought, __**'The Kyūbi could break free any second now and I can't do anything about it. I never deserved to be loved by my precious people. I can only imagine how disappointed Jiji-Sama will be, when he sees how I let Kyūbi free. Especially the girls, I never deserved to have their love and attention. My heart aches every time I think of what kind of monster they see me as but now I'll actually be a monster. That's what's going to hurt most of all.'**_

_ The dungeon shook from the power of Kyūbi's hits. Naruto stood paralyzed not knowing what to do as the King of Bijū tried to escape from its cage. Crimson chakra started to leak from behind the bars of the cage, before going to surround Naruto in a thick veil. He felt the chakra trying to trickle into his body, to take over his being. He didn't fight back, ignoring the feeling of his blood heating as the poisonous chakra spread through his veins. The Kyūbi chuckled darkly as his chakra spread through his container's body._

"_**Yes, that's right boy. Let my chakra spread through your weak body, so you can rip this seal off and let me free.**__**" Said the Kyūbi.**_

_ As Naruto's whiskers began to grow thicker, with his teeth becoming sharper. His eyes began to bleed to a dark red color and his finger nails grew longer and sharper until they resembled claws. A tail of chakra appeared sticking from Naruto's tail bone and ripping a hole in his pants. The chakra was spreading more quickly through the rest of his body and slowly taking over his mind, as Naruto dropped to his hands and knees, a growl tearing through his chest. He began to crawl towards the cage and began reaching to tear the seal off as Kyūbi watched in glee._

"_**Yes, my reincarnation is almost complete. In this body I will have my vengeance on you pathetic meat sacks and wreck havoc on this land. I'll torture all those you love dear just so you can watch them suffer and only writhe in agony I will most enjoy torturing your little girl friends and listen to their screams of pain as you watch in horror and not be able to a thing about it. It's too late to change your mind boy; it's completely under my control. The Kyūbi is back and better than ever and all will know of my great majesty and power.**__**" Shouted the Kyūbi, its cruel laughter bellowing through the dark dungeon.**_

_Something inside Naruto's mind snapped at the threat of Kyūbi harming his girls and he fought the power of Kyūbi's chakra, halting its takeover of his mind in its tracks. Soon his own chakra and immune system began to overtake Kyūbi's chakra and absorb it into his own, diminishing it's influence and potency. The chakra of Kyūbi was drawn to Naruto's body as his chakra purified Kyūbi's and absorbed it into his system._

"_**No! No! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! THERE'S NO POSSIBLE WAY I CAN BE DEFEATED BY A PATHETIC MEATSACK KIT! THE LITTLE BRAT IS ABSORBING MY CHAKRA AND WEAKENING MY BODY. IF THIS KEEPS UP I'LL BE WEAKENED AND DISSAPPEAR FOR GOOD! I CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN! THE GREAT KYŪBI WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY A MEAT SACK!**__**" Kyūbi roared, releasing all of his chakra in a desperation attempt to regain control.**_

_ Naruto fought with all his might against Kyūbi's chakra ignoring the screams of Kyūbi as his body weakened before he disappeared completely. He felt every fiber of his body stop for a moment and struggled to breath as his chakra quickly worked to overtake Kyūbi's chakra and stop it from trying to kill Naruto. Suddenly, his body was functioning properly and he took rapid, shallow breaths coughing as the air filtered into his empty lungs. He fell onto his back, his eyes closing as he was knocked into unconsciousness._

_Flashback End_

Naruto awoke and sat up straight, coughing and sputtering as he took a deep breath. The reality of his dream settled on him as he realized it wasn't a dream; that it was true and it actually happened.

'_The Kyūbi….he's gone. I'm free of the Kyūbi. I'm….I'm…..finally…….free!' _Naruto thought gleefully.

A wide smile spread across his face and he felt like jumping for joy but was restrained by the ever present wires attached to his body. The door was opened suddenly as the Hokage, Inoichi, Hiashi, Sakori, and the best doctor in the hospital with his staff right behind him. Needless to say, they were shocked when they saw Naruto sitting there as though he didn't just go to hell and back.

"Na-Naruto, is t-th-that you?" asked The Hokage nervously. Getting the huge foxy grin he was known for, Naruto nodded before saying, "The one and only, Jiji-Sama. I hope you haven't given away my spot to be the Godaime, just because I'm in the hospital doesn't mean I'm going to give up my dream of being Hokage." Seeing him having his usual bright attitude brought a smile to everyone as they thought of just how indifferent Naruto's personality was.

'_Naruto you are truly Konoha's most unpredictable ninja (In training, of course). I will never doubt you the rest of my days. Though I wonder how you're going to react when I tell you this._' The Hokage thought.

The Sandaime straightened himself up and smiled. "Naruto, I see you're up and well. That's good news though the doctors thought from all the injuries you had you would've died after they finished the surgery at best. Yet you once again surprise me. Did you know you've been in here for about 5 days? You actually went through 6 surgeries, a cat scan, and 205 stitches. But that's not why I'm here. Naruto there's something I have to tell you." He said, a bit gravely. Naruto looked surprise that his Jiji had something to tell him, but he was curious nonetheless. "Well what do you have to tell me, Jiji-sama?" Naruto asked. The Hokage glanced warily at the men now standing by the door with the hospital staff.

The fathers took that as their cue to leave and promised to be back later with their daughters as Sarutobi dismissed the staff.

The Sandaime sat down in one of four chairs procured by the hospital staff and said, "You better relax Naruto-kun because this is going to take a while. I assume you know about the Kyūbi attack eight years ago?" Naruto nodded. "Well most of that is true except for one thing. The Kyūbi didn't die; it was seale-"

"By the Yondaime. I know Jiji-sama." Naruto finished.

For a second time the Sandaime was shocked by the blond bundle of energy in front of him. "How do you know about that Naruto?" He whispered quietly. Naruto rubbed his chin and tilted his head striking a thinking pose, deciding not to tell the Hokage about Kyūbi; after all he still can't believe it either. "It was on my seventh birthday a year ago. A mob member let slip that I was the vessel of Kyūbi. Well not that it mattered really, I already had suspicions and he confirmed them." The Hokage's mouth formed in a comical 'O'.

Naruto burst out laughing, even though it caused immense pain on his part. If the Hinata, Sakura and Ino were there they would be worried and try immediately to stop his pain before scolding him but Naruto stopped soon enough. In his eyes the pain was worth every second just to see silly the expression on his Jiji's face. Once he had some control over his laughter, Naruto spoke "Jiji-Sama, I don't think that was all you had to say was it. You wouldn't come all the way over here to tell me about Kyūbi without that leading to something else, so spill." Getting over his third round of shock, (He really shouldn't be surprised by now) the Hokage wasted no more time and got straight to business.

"You're right Naruto. I came to talk to you about...your heritage, mainly your parents." The Sandaime said. Now it was Naruto's turn to be shocked.

'M-My p-parents? Jiji-sama has to be kidding me. What parents? I don't have any parents.'

"Jiji-sama what are you talking about. I don't have any parents?" Naruto said, a bit sad at the sore topic. The Hokage looked at Naruto somberly and said, "What you know about your parents is a lie, while it may be true they are..... Deceased, they did not abandon you as you originally thought; they were killed in the war with Kyūbi."

Seeing the shocked expression on Naruto's face the old man sighed heavily before continuing. "Naruto your parents were Minato Namikaze, The Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki, Princess of Whirlpool. During the war your mother died giving birth to you and your father sacrificed his life and your own to seal Kyūbi away into his only child."

Naruto's eyes widened when he heard his father was The Fourth Hokage, the one person he looked up to the most and his idol for as long as he could remember. He was also surprised by who his mother was and a little happy she didn't abandon him like he once thought. Naruto felt a sharp stinging in his eye and drops of moisture roll down his cheeks. "But Jiji-Sama, if the fourth was my father and he sacrificed his life to defeat Kyūbi then why'd he seal the Kyūbi in me? Didn't he love me?" asked Naruto sadly, remembering what the Kyūbi said about the Yondaime.

The Hokage was sympathetic and patted Naruto's head before replying, "He loved you more than words can express and it killed him to place such a heavy burden on his own child but Minato couldn't ask someone else to sacrifice their own child if he wasn't willing to sacrifice his. That and he thought since you were the son of the Hokage your genes would make you better suited to contain Kyūbi and his chakra than someone else."

Naruto felt more tears roll down his face as his heart swelled with pride at the trust , responsibility, and faith his father bestowed on him when he was just an infant.

'I won't let you down father. One day I'll be as great of a Hokage as you.' He thought.

The Hokage watched as a look of determination became etched in Naruto's face, his fist clenching the bed sheets tightly. Suddenly Naruto spoke with a courageous and a mature voice. "Jiji-Sama I want you to enroll me in The Shinobi Academy so I can become a great ninja just like Tousan and Kaasan." The Hokage was surprised but pride spread throughout his body at Naruto's declaration and all the while he was thinking.........

'Minato, Kushina if only you could see your son now.'

Acknowledging Naruto's request, he spoke to him in a grandfatherly, yet authoritative tone. "Naruto, do you understand the duties and risks of being a Shinobi? You know that once you become one your life and possibly those around you are constantly in danger. Also once you put on that head band there's no going back." Naruto's resolve waivered for a brief moment as his mind wandered to Sakura, Ino, and Hinata.

'That's why I have to get stronger, to protect them from bad people like Fugaku and even worse creatures like Kyūbi.'

"I'm sure Jiji-Sama. I want to prove to everyone that I'm worthy of recognition. One day I'll be Hokage and everyone will have to respect me for who I am not what I am." He said, barely whispering the last part. For the first time that day the Hokage smiled and ruffled Naruto's head, also causing the small boy to smile widely. "Alright Naruto I'll enroll you into the academy immediately and you and I and a few others will go shopping tomorrow to get your Shinobi Gear." His smile faltered when he heard the Hokage mention clothes and Shinobi Gear. Observant as ever the Hokage took note of Naruto's crestfallen expression and inquired about it.

"What's wrong Naruto? I would think you'd be excited about buying your Shinobi tools." The Hokage said. Mumbling something unintelligible Naruto cast his eyes to the ground as he spoke louder. "It's just that no one will sell me clothes or ninja stuff. Every time I try to go buy some they kick me out, either that or they give me old, worn, or unwanted stuff full of holes or covered in dust and charge me five times as much for it." The Hokage was livid that the villagers treated Naruto so poorly.

'Those damn villagers so blinded by the grief and hatred that they can't see that he's just a little boy and not the demon incarnate.' He thought.

"Don't worry Naruto that's why I'm going with you tomorrow and I promise that no one will ever overcharge you again. If they ever treat you badly or if you think they overcharge for anything you come see me." The Hokage said. He pulled a scroll from the front of his robe before handing it to Naruto. "What's this Jiji-Sama?" asked Naruto. The Hokage instructed him to make a hand seal and after doing so the scroll popped open and letters, notes and blueprints for a house appeared. The Hokage stood up and sat on the edge of Naruto's bed, wary of the many wires still connected to his body. "These, Naruto, are the things your parents left you after their death. This scroll holds only a portion of it while the rest is in secured vaults and..."

He gently pulled the blueprints out of Naruto's lap and unrolled them showing the layout of a huge mansion before continuing, "In this house. This is the Namikaze Clan Mansion which by birth and your parent's will is rightfully yours." Naruto was in awe as he looked over the blueprints. Meanwhile the Hokage was explaining different things about the items in the scroll. A while after the Hokage stood up to leave but not before speaking one last time to Naruto. "Oh and Naruto, from now on you will go by the name Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and as soon as you are released we'll get your things from the orphanage and move you into the clan house. I'll also get the staff to move you into a bigger room because it looks to be a little cramped for you and your guests."

Naruto nodded slowly still trying to process the fact that he'll never be treated wrong again. Suddenly the door shook and wobbled before opening revealing the girls sprawled out on the floor of the room. It was very obvious that they were eavesdropping, if their ruby red faces didn't tell you to begin with. The sound of 3 pairs of heavy and loud footsteps heading this way echoed through the deadly silent room.

Soon three very out of breath fathers were standing in the door way profusely apologizing for their children's rash behavior to the Hokage and Naruto. The girls rushed to Naruto and began apologizing for eavesdropping, their voices panicked because they thought Naruto was mad at them. Naruto was surprised that he didn't notice they were behind the door but told them it was impossible to be mad at those closest to him. This brought blushes to the four children as the adults smiled at the scene before them. "Well Naruto we'll leave you four alone as you probably have a lot to talk about." With that said the others left the room leaving the four children alone.

The silence was broken by Naruto who asked, "How much did you hear?" They looked sheepishly at the ground, a light rose blush spreading through their cheeks. "We got here around the time the Hokage started talking about a clan house." Ino whispered. "Are you absolutely sure aren't mad at us Naruto-Kun? We just gained your trust and I'd feel terrible if we lost it already." Sakura pleaded. Naruto sat up a little straighter wincing slightly, as one of the syringe tubes in his arm shifted a little. With one hand he gently motioned for them to sit in the chairs around the bed. "I could never hate you no matter what. Even though we're not fully mature and have only known each other for a few months, I feel like I've known you three all my life. You were the only people, besides Jiji-Sama, to respect and love me for whom I am and I don't think there's anything you can do that will make me stop feeling that way." He said, the corners of his mouth turning up in a small grin.

Smiling, they let out a sigh of relief each gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. They spent hours telling Naruto about the things that were happening in the village while he was incapacitated inside the hospital, including the arrest and release of Fugaku Uchiha. The Uchiha clan leader was arrested once the Hokage had the girls' testimony and was kept in maximum security for 1 night after the civilian council voted 9:1 for his release. The Shinobi council was less than pleased with this development and even more so when he demanded his accomplice, Akuma Zōshoku, be released. The Shinobi council argued that just because Fugaku is an Uchiha doesn't mean that he's above the law and they both should be disciplined according to the code established by the 1st Hokage. The civilian council overrode the Shinobi council's vote and released Fugaku and Akuma, ordering that their arrest be kept silent and under the radar. Naruto felt furious and the emotion was shown on his face by the large scowl, fuming at the release of Fugaku.

'_After all he's done to us how can they let him go? I can only imagine what he would've done to my girls if they weren't found when they were.' _He thought, a cold shiver running down his back, before his thoughts wondered to all the precious people in his life.

'_I'll become the best Hokage there ever was and protect the people I love.'_

A knock was heard in the room and the door opened to reveal the Hokage and the hospital staff. The staff began carefully unhooking wires from the machines, while the girls stood up out of the way against the wall. Working swiftly the needles and other medical instruments were gently removed from Naruto and bandaged any open incisions, who was then wheeled outside into the hall, as the rest followed into a larger much cozier room. There was a large box bed by the left wall dark wood dresser, a sofa opposite the dresser, and a television. The staff lifted Naruto from the mobile hospital bed and placed him in the room's included bed. They quickly walked out wheeling the hospital bed with them.

"This is where you'll be staying Naruto," said the Hokage, silently indicating the same to the rest."You seem fine now, the doctors are going have you stay overnight to make sure nothing else goes wrong and if everything is fine, you'll be released from the hospital tomorrow morning." They perked up at this and Naruto grinned widely and stretched his muscles slowly savoring the feel of free movement for the first time in a while. His stomach growled loudly and a slight blush lit his face.

"I guess I'm a little hungry Jiji-Sama, well maybe more than a little." He said, with a slight grin.

The Hokage puffed on his pipe and smiled before standing up and ruffling Naruto's hair. "I'll order some food to be brought here; do you have something specific in mind," He asked. Naruto muttered something about ramen before his stomach erupted again. With a slight chuckle the Hokage assured him the food will be brought shortly before taking his leave. The girls quickly lay next to Naruto, glad to be able to finally touch him without causing him pain. He rested his head against Ino, who was behind him, as she began to lovingly stroke his hair. Hinata lay on his right side, opposite of Sakura, as they placed a hand on his chest. Taking his arms he wrapped them around the two girls at his side before gently kissing Ino on the nose. She giggled before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his forehead.

"Hey, before I forget to tell you. I don't have the Kyūbi anymore. He's gone forever and now we don't ever have to worry about him anymore." Said Naruto, groaning yet smiling gently as they jumped up excitedly.

"Really? So you don't have to worry about that anymore? That's great Naruto-Kun!" Ino squealed, hugging him tighter.

"I'm so happy for you Naruto-Kun!" Hinata whispered excitedly, kissing him gently on the cheek.

"Now whenever those villagers accuse you of harboring a demon. You won't feel guilty because you got rid of him. Something even the Yondaime couldn't completely do." Sakura said, also giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

Naruto took a deep breath preparing himself for the next bomb shell. "Yeah, about that. I also found out the Fourth Hokage is my father." He waited for the squeals but was surprised when he heard nothing but silence. The looks of shock and awe said it all.

"Oh, Naruto-Kun you finally learn who your real parents are and find out your dad is the Hokage. Wow!" whispered Sakura, hugging him tighter from her position.

"It's beyond wow, Naruto-Kun. After dating this amazingly sweet guy, whose loyal, loving, and protective; on top of all that we also find out that he's the son of the greatest Hokage ever. Not even to mention all of the stuff you have to deal with everyday. Naruto-Kun you are the most amazing person I have ever met." Said Ino, kissing his forehead lightly, rubbing his scalp more gently, and hearing his gentle sighs of happiness.

"Naruto-Kun you are so amazing. Taking care of all of us and ignoring those hurtful things from the villagers. You never knew who your mother and father was and was hated by nearly everyone but you didn't become bitter or angry. You just became one of the sweetest and kindest persons in the village." Said Hinata, crawling deeper into his embrace.

Naruto blushed and pulled them tighter to him. "I'm really flattered that you all feel that way about me; but the only reason I'm like any of those things is because of you. Without you, I think I would've strayed down the wrong path and never gotten back on track but you never let me. Just your presence was enough to keep me right, so it's really me who should be thanking and praising you." Said Naruto.

A chorus of "Oh Naruto-Kun" was heard and he felt three soft kisses on his skin as they giggled talking excitedly about these new revelations.

The four soon fell asleep not noticing the same seal master the girls met earlier coming in and turning off the light and lowering the TV's volume. The Seal Master quietly shut the door and left with a smile.

'_I guess they do care about that young boy, more than I ever imagined._' She thought, walking off to back to her office.

That's the end of this chapter; One of my best and longest chapters ever probably won't have such a long chapter again but you never know.


	8. New Look, Same Naruto

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Eight**

**New Look, Same Naruto**

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**_Sunday, October 17__th__, Konohagakure Hospital, Naruto's Room (8:00 A.M.)

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"No daddy, five more minutes. I want to stay with Naruto-Kun." Sakura said, replying to her father's gentle shakes to rouse her out of the bed.

"Sorry princess, but we have to go so you can get dressed. Or else you won't be able to go shopping with Naruto-San." Sakura's father, Sakori, said. Her eyes snapped open and she gently removed herself from Naruto's embrace, before sitting up and stretching with a soft mewl. She saw that Hinata and Ino, looking just as tired as she felt standing next to their father's, leaning against them for support. Sakura got out of the bed and walked up to her father before he picked her up gently as she nuzzled into his chest. They quickly left the room and shut the soundly, carrying their children at their sides.

Naruto awoke a short while later and stretched his hands out yawning loudly. Rubbing his eyes he looked around the room and noticed the girls were gone. He saw a small envelope on the bedside table and saw it was from their father's saying they had to go home to get dressed and would be back shortly. A nurse walked in and helped Naruto get out of the bed, his muscles stiff from immobilization. Once he was on his feet he stretched his back feeling the bones and joints crack back into alignment. He listened attentively to the nurse as she pointed out the in-suite bathroom and told him the Hokage sent some clothes for him to wear and that they'd be lying on his bed by the time he was through with his shower.

The nurse assured him that no one on staff had a key to his room but her so his privacy would be protected. Naruto thanked her and grabbed a towel and entering the bathroom door shutting it gently behind him. As promised, when he got out of the shower wrapped in a towel, an outfit of clothes were lying on his bed. He saw it was a black t-shirt and matching shorts. Quickly he put on the clothes, placing his sandals on last as a knock on the door was heard. He quickly ran to the door stumbling slightly as he almost tripped over his unfastened sandal. Opening the door, Naruto was nearly knocked over when the girl's rushed up to him and hugged him tightly.

A large, red blush spread through his cheeks at the affection as the father's chuckled quietly at his predicament. The Hokage appeared chewing on his non-lit pipe as he placed an arm around Naruto once the girls had let him go. "So Naruto, are you ready to get your Shinobi gear?" He asked, merrily ruffling the boy's hair. Naruto nodded before a large grin spread across his face, his eyes sparkling with excitement and joy. "Well, what do you say we get out of here and head towards the orphanage to retrieve your things? Come we shall go." The Sandaime said, leading the way. Naruto followed behind him eager to keep up; Hinata, Ino, and Sakura followed too giggling at their boyfriend's excitement. Hiashi, Inoichi, and Sakori followed too sighing loudly, knowing if their daughter's were anything like their wives their pockets would be regrettably much lighter.

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_Konohagakure Shopping District, Fukusō's Shinobi Outfitter Store (9:15 A.M.)_

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Naruto walked with his hands behind his head listening to his girlfriends' suggestions of what outfits he should wear. Naruto didn't really care what his new outfit would be as long as it was practical and fitting he would have no objections to it.

'_Anything to make my girls happy, I guess.'_ He thought, smiling as he watched them interact with each other.

The Hokage stopped in front of a store and said, "Naruto, this is the place. Let us go inside and find you a proper outfit." Soon Naruto was dragged into the store by an excited Sakura and Ino while Hinata giggled, saying, "Slow down you two. Don't hurt Naruto-Kun!" They slowed down once they were in the store, letting him catch his breath. "Thanks Hinata-Chan." Naruto said, kissing her softly on the cheek. Hinata blushed, a wide grin erupting from her face; "Hey Naruto-Kun, what about us? We want a kiss too!" Pouted Ino and Sakura. He smiled and gave them a gentle kiss, his lips brushing softly against their cheeks. The older men walked into the store and were amused at the scene the children provided.

A tall, fit man appeared from the back of the store, the only signs of age being his gray hair and weathered face; otherwise one would've took him being nothing but 40 years old at the most. "Ah, Hokage-Sama, how may I help you today?" The shopkeeper asked. Sarutobi puffed on his now lit pipe and smiled warmly at the man.

"I'm not shopping for me today Fukusō. We're here shopping for my little academy student, Naruto and I know you'll have just what we need." He said, indicating Naruto by ruffling his hair, causing the small boy to smile happily.

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki?" asked Fukusō, looking directly at Naruto, who fidgeted slightly and replied with a low "yes". Fukusō came from behind the counter and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Listen son, I can only imagine how those other shopkeepers treated you and it's a downright shame someone could treat any person or creature that way. I know what you have inside you, kid but that's not who you are and even the others don't see it like that, I know better. You'll never have to worry about someone treating you unfairly in this store. Feel free to come here whenever you need something and you'll only pay at a fair price. How's that sound boy?" asked Fukusō.

Naruto grinned happily and said, "That sounds great Mr. Fukusō!" The shopkeeper smiled and squeezed shoulder saying, "Just call me Kuso, kid. Now if you're looking for good Shinobi Academy outfits the best ones are in the back. Chose whatever you want but be sure it's good for tactical purposes." Naruto smiled and ran to the back of the store his girls following behind him. Fukusō smiled as he watched the four kids before noticing the three fathers standing by the door. "Hiashi, Inoichi, Sakori are those your daughters?" He asked. Sakori nodded glancing warily at Naruto and Sakura giggling, before getting an amused smile at their antics.

Hiashi and Inoichi agreed, chuckling when they saw the numerous outfits their daughters stuffed in Naruto's hand. The five men stood watching as Naruto withstood barricade after barricade of clothes.

Naruto felt as though if something else was put in his arms he was going to fall over. The girls had been stuffing clothes in his arms left and right until he was covered in mountains of fabric. He thanked Kami when the continuous onslaught of clothes ended and he was finally able to sit the outfits down in a chair near the dressing rooms. His gratefulness would not last long because soon his girls stuffed some outfits in his arms before pushing him into the dressing room. After many outfits to which his girls positively said would not work for him, he was down to the last outfit in the pile, he walked out in the outfit to see his girls staring at him with dropped jaws.

He fidgeted nervously pulling the collar of the tight, black muscle shirt gulping loudly. "I-Is it okay? You, you don't like it?" asked Naruto. "You should wear that everyday Naruto-Kun. It looks really…..tight….um I mean fitting. It really suits you and I think you should definitely get that on." Hinata said, blushing redder than a cherry.

"Yeah, you should definitely get that one." Agreed Sakura, Ino nodded quickly still staring at Naruto, her mouth opened widely. Naruto went back to the dressing room and looked at himself in the mirror. He saw the shirt clung to him like second skin and the dark color provided a great base for camouflage. Swinging his arms around, he twisted his chest to check the stretch and mobility of the perforated fabric. The shirt followed his movements with ease and comfort, not hindering his mobility at all, making it perfect for moving around frequently and practicing Jutsu. The cargo shorts were loose enough to perform different movements and acrobatic techniques fluidly; the shorts were fitting and had numerous pockets for storage.

He quickly changed back in to his own clothes carrying several outfits he thought suitable for his Shinobi training before walking out of the dressing room. As soon as he went back by the clothing racks he saw the girls holding several garments in their hands laughing at each other as they picked out more clothing. After much debate and the emptying of many clothing racks, they chose a few outfits to try on, heading into the dressing room leaving Naruto to figure out what he was going to do with the huge pile of fabric.

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_Girl's Dressing Room, Fukusō's Shinobi Outfitter Store, (10:32 A.M.)_

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"You know what Ino? I don't think this one fits me quite right. What do you think Sakura?" Hinata asked looking in the mirror at the pale blue combat dress she was currently wearing. Ino and Sakura walked around Hinata, examining the dress with a critic's eye, lightly tapping their chins as they pondered the dress's fit on their friend.

"You know Hinata, I think you're right it is a little too big for your arms and the bottom is almost reaching you ankles." Sakura said, looking at the dress with disdain. Ino was in agreement with Sakura, nodding lowly and said, "Definitely, it doesn't have the right look for you Hina." Hinata quickly changed out of the dress before picking up a new outfit holding it below her chin. A good portion of time was spent looking for suitable combat attire. At the end the three, exhausted and frustrated, lay on the bench in the room spread out huffing loudly, arms crossed; angry not to have found a suitable look.

"What are we going to do? We've looked through nearly 100 outfits and haven't found a single one that works for us." Sakura said, running a hand through her hair out of frustration. Hinata wasn't better off and simply sighed as she looked at the pile of clothes on the floor. Ino simply stared at the ceiling, a hand resting behind her neck. The silence of the room echoed through their eardrums and the only sounds heard was their own heartbeat.

Suddenly Ino stood up quickly, startling Hinata and Sakura as their heads bumped against the wall. "OWWWW, that hurts!" They shrieked loudly, rubbing the tender spot on their head.

"Sorry," said Ino apologetically. "I just thought of something wait right here!" They looked at each other thinking:

'_What could she possibly be doing now?_'

They were soon answered when Ino strolled back into the room with three identical outfits. As they looked at the outfits thy found themselves squealing quietly as they walked over and touched the smooth garments. "Oh my god Ino these are perfect." Sakura said, feeling the silky and durable material between her fingers. Ino smiled and handed an outfit to Hinata.

"Thanks. I just remembered I forgot to bring them in and I thought they'd be perfect for us." She said, as she held her own outfit beneath her collar.

"Ino you have great taste and to think all the time we could've saved if we'd saw these first." Hinata said, as they laughed at the truth over her statement. "The only thing is will Naruto like them?"

Ino scoffed before looking at her dress again. "With this outfit it will be harder to figure how he will not like them." She said, unleashing an infectious giggle that soon had them all cracking up.

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_Outside of Dressing Rooms, Fukusō's Shinobi Outfitter's Store (11:06 A.M)_

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After putting up the insanely large pile of clothes back onto the racks Naruto was quite tired. He found himself lounging in the chair by the dressing rooms waiting for Hinata, Ino, and Sakura to come out.

'_What could possibly be taking them so long? They walked in with 3 outfits and have been in there for almost an hour._' He thought, yawning as he spread his arms hoping for a short nap to gain his energy back.

Any tiredness he was feeling went away when he heard the dressing room open and saw his three girls walk out in one of the most attracting outfits he'd ever seen. They were all wearing the same thing but the effect was the same. "Wow, you three look beautiful. Blushing they smiled as Naruto took in their attire, his jaw dropped open as he looked. He saw that the outfit was a fitting combat dress that clung to them like liquid and the top was cut just below their collar and was decorated in different sequin patterns but with the same golden spread eagle paint-stitched on to the back.

The thing that really set things off in Naruto's mind was the accessories. The stylish and knee high scarf boots that wrapped around their legs and drew the attention from the dress to the legs. He found himself whispering wow as he looked the outfits. "You should definitely get that outfit! Definitely." Naruto said his mouth shut as a small blush crept into his cheeks. They smiled and went back to change out of the outfit, knowing this was their day's featured purchase.

"Told you he would love the outfit; though we'll probably have to get a less attracting outfit because he might get a little too distracted. They laughed walking to the dressing room echoing through the empty store. Soon they were walking up to buy their clothes and Naruto looked at the Hokage expectantly who laughed and told Kuso he was paying. Kuso smiled happily and said, "Well I was going to give it to the little tyke for free because I thought he was paying; but since it's you Hokage-Sama that's 1,100 ryō." Kuso said; winking at Naruto as the Hokage handed over the money.

He gave Naruto his bag and they waited for the others to finish paying for their things. They said goodbye to Kuso as they exited the shop getting a wave in return. "Remember kid buy all your clothes here. 60% discount for the most valued customer and guests. Naruto shook his head smiling before following the group headed towards the weapon shop.

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_Konohagakure Shopping District, The Shinobi Art's Mission Supply Shop and Weaponry (11:57 A.M.)

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They walked into the shop and saw weapons covering every inch of the wall. A youthful, brown haired man stood behind the counter watching the group as they came in before smiling when he saw Naruto.

"Namikaze Naruto, what's up kid? Been waiting for you to step in my shop for a while now, just about thought you weren't coming in until you showed up. I knew your father real well, came and bought weapons from me and even had me build a few of his own custom made ones. Yep, I've been knowing him a long time, used to be in his class at the academy. Of course, I got into an incident on a mission that left me unable to fulfill the jobs required for Shinobi. Awwww but what the heck your father was a hell of a guy and came and visited me every day after that just to cheer me up. Best of friends me and him but what can I do for you little man. Hello Hokage-Sama. Haven't seen you in a while." Said the man smiling at Naruto then looking at the Hokage.

"Good Afternoon Buki. We're here to buy Naruto some weapons and perhaps a few sealing scrolls among other things." The Hokage said. Buki stepped from behind the counter wrapping an arm around Naruto's shoulder, telling him all sorts of stuff about his father while the other's looked around in the store.

"Me and your dad were set to be on the same team but got switched out at the last moment. When we became Jōnin we were fighting in the same unit in the 3rd Great Shinobi War. We were evacuating and a Kusugakure ninja ambushed me when Minato's back was turned. Though I survived, Minato always blamed himself for turning his back and was always apologizing when I kept telling him it wasn't his fault; though this was around the time when he became known as "Konoha's Yellow Flash". I did get a huge scar running from my leg that left me paralyzed for 3 years." Said Buki smiling at Naruto's eager attention as he hung on to every word he said.

"Anyways kid, why don't I show you some weapons and leave you alone. Maybe when you're done and your friends are still shopping, I might be able to tell you a little more about me and your father." Buki said, laughing when he saw Naruto's enthusiastic nods. He walked over to a table covered in black velvet with dozens of small weapons lined in rows. Buki held up a triangular shaped and sharp edged looking dagger, a small 4-pronged weapon with a hole in the middle and showed them to Naruto.

"If you don't already know what these are the dagger is called a kunai and the star shaped one is called a shuriken. These are the most basic weapons and the one's you'll mostly come into contact with your first year. Every year after that you come to me and I'll give you the weapons that you need, alright. Let's move on to the other stuff then let's see over here we got some scrolls and over here we got…….." Buki said showing Naruto the different gear and telling him more about his father. By the time they got ready to leave they saw they had been shopping for almost 3 hours.

Buki walked back behind the counter as he placed Naruto's things on the counter. He rang them up on the cash register and put the weapons in separate cases before putting them all in a bag. The Hokage pulled out his wallet and asked, "How much does it cost Buki?"

Buki shook his head and said, "It's free of charge. After everything the little man's dad did for me, this is my way of repaying him. Listen kid, anything at all in this shop you want that isn't custom made or engraved is all yours. I'll just ring it up so I can have it taken with my inventory or else my wife will kill me. Don't ever worry about paying much around here squirt I'll give you the same discount I gave your old man for customized weapons. 20% of the original price but you pay for the metal. Deal?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically and shook Buki's hand saying, "Deal!" Naruto grabbed his stuff and watched as the girls bought their stuff. The Hokage held open the door waiting for Naruto to go out. "Hold up there a sec teeter-totter. I got something for you." Said Buki, pulling out a small case from underneath the counter, walking around and handing it to Naruto. "It's a customized set of combat knives. I made 'em just last week and even got your seal in there so they're brand new and up to standard. I couldn't figure your hand size so I compared them to Minato's when we were little and it looks like I might have it right. Go ahead, take a look."

Naruto opened the case and saw the combat knives gently taking one is his hand. "Just like I thought a perfect fit. Good looking weapons aren't they kid?" Naruto's eyes welled up with tears as he suddenly wrapped his arms around Buki's waist, feeling tears roll down his cheeks. "Thank you Mr. Buki sir. Thank you so much for everything." He said, never letting go of his hold on Buki's waist. The girls were touched by this show of Naruto's feminine side making them fall even more in love with him and feeling tears welling in their eyes too.

Buki looked sheepish and a little awkward and gently patted Naruto on the head. "There, there kid it's alright; don't be ashamed. Your father was a big cry baby too but look how he turned out. Greatest Shinobi that ever lived, with much respect to you Hokage-Sama." Buki said, trying not to seem disrespectful "No that's quite true. Greatest Shinobi indeed." He heard the Hokage say. "Anyways kid here; I want you to have this. It's your dad's neck tag from when he was still a Jōnin and after he gave it to me during the war. I think it will look better on you."

Naruto gratefully accepted the tag and wrapped it around his neck; thanking Buki again for everything. "It's alright kid. Sheesh! You're almost as bad as your father. Alright, little man. Scram!" Buki said playfully ushering them out of the door. "We have one more stop before the day is over but what do you say we go for some ramen Naruto?" said the Hokage smiling at Naruto's quick reply "yes" as he began to run down the street towards Ichiraku's.

By the time, the rest got there they saw Naruto was on his 3rd bowl of ramen. "Kami Jiji-Sama what took you so long? I've already started to eat my ramen." Naruto said mouth full of ramen noodles as he drained his bowl. "Hey old man, another bowl please?" asked Naruto. Hinata, Sakura and Ino were shocked at the rate of ramen their boyfriend could consume. When everyone else was on their 2nd bowl Naruto was on his 8th; soon because everyone but Naruto was completely full and the Hokage didn't want his wallet to get any thinner, they left but not before Naruto ordered another bowl to go.

The Hokage sighed as he looked at his now empty wallet and began leading Naruto towards the last point of the tour. "Where are we going now Jiji-Sama?" asked Naruto. The Hokage smiled and said, "You'll see soon Naruto-Kun." The route they were taking would lead them to the Clan District, Naruto remembered, from countless visits to pick Hinata up. He remembered seeing a giant mansion directly across from Hinata's and asking her whose it was. She told him she didn't know but her father told her no one had lived there for over 8 years.

The new sentries greeted them happily, even giving Naruto a noogie as he passed by causing him to laugh and pull away. Naruto got along much better with the new sentries, who always had a moment to talk with him about all sorts of funny things they get to see as sentries. They were walking along the road, seeing different people out in their yards as they waved at them. The younger children noticed they seemed to be going to the older section of the Clan District, right to where Hinata's estate was.

As fate would have it they stood in front of the exact same estate Naruto had asked Hinata about. "Jiji-Sama what are we doing here? No on lives in that house." Said Naruto, noticing the outside of the house looked like it had recently been cleaned and the lawn trimmed The adults knew what was coming but the children remained clueless. "It's true Naruto. No one has lived in this house. Until now, that is." Said the Hokage, fighting himself from laughing and giving it away too soon.

Naruto scrunched his face in the most adorable way, or so the girls thought, and asked, "So who lives here now Jiji-Sama? I don't see anyone in there." The Hokage chuckled lightly and pulled out a small ring of keys. "Why you do Naruto-Kun. This was your parent's house before they died and now by their will and rule of the Hokage it's yours now. "The Hokage said, smiling at the look of awe inspired expression on the children's' faces but mainly Naruto's.

"Th-This is my house? Ar- Are you serious Jiji-Sama? It's all mine?" asked Naruto, still not quite believing the whole thing wasn't a prank. The Hokage smiled and walked Naruto up to the iron gate held between to stone pillars. "This key is used to open the gate and door but you don't need to use it. Minato took a sample of your DNA just after you were born and registered it in the chakra seals protecting the house so only you can open it. I had to use the key because I am not registered in the system and advise you to give it to those you deem most trustworthy, since it is the only way they can get in. Just place your hand on the gate lock and it will open." The Hokage said, indicating the lock to Naruto.

Naruto gently reached and twisted the lock's knob and watching in amazement as it open instantly. He began walking on the paved stone walkway noticing the exotic and rare flowers planted around the front of the house. The mansion was made of thick, stone covered in grey marble, the blue veins shimmering deeply as though it were brand new. Naruto gently turned the chrome knob of the bright and sophisticated crystal door and opened it up to see the huge expanse of the house in full view.

The multiple floors flowed together as though they were all one; he counted as many as five floors overlooking the living room like a balcony. They toured the house, listening as the Hokage pointed out the different rooms. The 1st floor had the kitchen, stocked with every possible flavor of instant ramen and ingredients for making it homemade. The fridge had been recently filled with all sorts of food including fresh vegetables and fruit and 2 cases of bottled water.

When Naruto inquired the Hokage about this he said, "Water is essential to keep the body in top shape, Naruto. As a Shinobi your body is your most important asset and among other things to keep it healthy, you must drink plenty of water. Especially in the afternoon and, before and after training because it's at these times your body will lose much water. You must keep hydrated to stay fit and healthy." The kitchen and dining room took up half of the first floor. The rest was mostly taken up by the living room and the rest by a bathroom for visitors to use.

The training grounds were outside and Naruto saw it contained a large lake, several wooden posts, and was surrounded by thick trees. He was eager to try out his new weapons but wanted to see the entire mansion before practicing. There was also a private hot spring located directly next to the training grounds, after a long day to ease and soothe the sore muscles. All of the bedrooms were on the 2nd and 3rd floors with a private bathroom connected to each one.

Naruto saw that his was in the back of the 3rd story the door indicated by a large spread eagle with the letter 'N' embroidered on its back. The Hokage told him that was the master bedroom and took them up to the 4th story level which was a library and study was filled with different books, scrolls, and notes on Jutsu, He noticed one section of the library was devoted to journals and other literature with the Namikaze seal on them. The Hokage told him it meant those Jutsu were exclusive to the Namikaze clan and no one else could use them unless directly taught by a Namikaze.

"No Kekkei Genkai can copy the Jutsu not even the Byakugan or Sharningan in any form could learn the clan's technique unless taught by a direct descendent of the clan. This is another benefit of the clan's exclusive Jutsu. They were notorious for their skills at Fūinjutsu and Kenjustu on top of being the best at the basic three forms of Shinobi Justus (Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu)." The Sandaime said, glancing at Naruto as he listened eagerly.

He showed them the fifth floor and told him it was exclusively decorated by Minato and Kushina and they used to come up here to relax or think about problems they were facing, away from it all. "This," The Hokage started, "Is where Minato came up with his most famous Jutsu including The Flying Thunder God Technique and The Rasengan. When you advance your skills enough you'll be able to learn these Jutsu easily."

They walked back down to the first floor and the others began to leave began to leave seeing the sky turn violet and inked with blue. Naruto walked them outside to the gate. The Hokage gave him a scroll and told him it had some things his parents left him sealed inside. He saw the girls standing by the gate waiting for him.

"Today was fantastic Naruto-Kun. I don't think I've ever had this much fun." Sakura said, gently standing on her toes and giving Naruto a quick kiss on the lips; both were blushing beet red but Sakura waved goodbye smiling as Ino and Hinata giggled at the two. Ino walked in front of Naruto and gave him a small kiss, their lips touching for barely a second. Alight blush came over her cheeks as she said goodbye following her father home.

Naruto was blushing a bright red easily visible in the night time and had a small idea of what Hinata was going to do next. They were all alone as everyone else had left and Hiashi had walked back to the Hyūga estate. Hinata was blushing even harder than he was, if possible. "I, well I, don't quite know what those two were- you see we made a deal to give you a kiss but I didn't think they meant…..Oh I'm just messing this up well, good night Naruto-Kun. I'll see you……" She was cut off when Naruto's lips met hers and felt her arms wrap around his neck without conscious thought.

She broke the kiss, gently bringing a finger to her lips. "I just figured you would want to keep the same theme going." Naruto said playfully, smiling as she giggled happily at him. They said goodnight and Naruto went back inside the mansion, locking the gate and door as he went. Walking up the stairs, Naruto noticed how silent it really was; even though the silence filled the house it was warm and inviting.

* * *

_Konohagakure Clan District, Namikaze Estate (Mansion), Master Bedroom (9:20 P.M.)

* * *

_

Naruto sat on the bed, unsealing the scroll and looking in amazement at all the things that fell out. Looking through the stuff, he saw keys to deposit boxes, several bank accounts, the private weaponry beneath house, and a few other hidden rooms. He also saw three large journals titled: "Flying Thunder God Technique", "Rasengan", and the third was not titled; when Naruto opened he saw that the Jutsu was not complete. Setting that aside he picked up a rectangular envelope entitled to him.

Opening the envelope a single piece of paper came out and he held it up to the light and read it:

_Dear Naruto,_

_ I am so sorry I can't be there for you and take you for your first day at the academy. I think this is what will disappoint me the most not being able to see you grow up and teaching you how to throw a kunai._ _I am so sad I had to leave you like this and even more for leaving you with such a big burden to carry. I would've done it myself, with a technique I created but my chakra coils and body had already developed and the Kyūbi wouldn't have been sealed properly and would have broken free and escaped._

_I hope you can forgive me from damning you to hold the Kyūbi but it was the only choice at the time. I want you to know I trust you with all my faith and know you wouldn't let me down. The Kyūbi is coming but I have one more thing to tell. I'll always remember this moment, holding you in my arms as I write this letter, watching you try to eat my thumb. You should see yourself right now, gurgling and laughing with a full head of shocking blond hair just like your old man. Let me tell you're a scrappy little man, you almost bit my thumb but it doesn't matter._

_It's time to go but I want you to know how much I love you Naruto and become a great man and even greater father like your dad, tee hee. Don't forget how much I love you and no matter what people say, know I love you more than I ever could describe. Who knows we might see each other again someday but I'll spend my time locked in the Shingami trying to find a way to get back to you. _

_ With more love than you can imagine,_

_ Minato Namikaze_

Naruto smiled as tears began to fall hot and fast down his cheeks, doing nothing to stop them. He took everything from the bed on to the dresser and held the note close to him, reading the letter over and over feeling his shirt soaking with tears as he lay in the bed, scanning the letter in the darkness.

'_I won't let you down dad I promise._' He thought before yawning and succumbing to sleep.

* * *

**Wow, over 5000 words major writing feat for me.**


	9. The Shinobi Academy

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Nine**

** The Shinobi Academy **

**

* * *

**_Monday, October 18th, Namikaze Estate, Master Bedroom (6:27 A.M.)_

* * *

_N_aruto awoke with a yawn, stretching his limbs in his new, over-sized bed. Smacking his lips a few times, he blearily looked around his new room with half-closed eyes. The room was decorated with a gold and white theme, casting a warm glow from the reflected sunlight coming from the bay window across the room. The king sized bed was decorated in a white comforter with gold trimming, illuminated brightly by the light.

His bed was so warm and comfortable that Naruto didn't feel like getting up, so he closed his eyes before bolting upright and hopping out of bed, running across the floor like the devil was at his heels. Rushing in to his bathroom and grabbing a large towel from the basket before closing the door to take a clean and thorough shower. The sound of the spraying water was heard throughout the room as steam escaped from under the door.

The water was stopped abruptly a while later and soon after, Naruto appeared wrapped in his towel, a small hand towel on top of his head. He dried off quickly and dressed in his shinobi gear. He was just lacing up his combat boots when he heard the doorbell ring followed by loud knocking and quickly grabbing his jacket and weapon belt, he rushed quickly down the stairs and opened the front door. Dressed in a long sleeve black shirt and dark, fitting cargo pants were Hinata, Ino, and Sakura on the other side of the door with their fathers standing right behind them. Their weapons were kept in a light and specifically designed and durable vest with pockets and holsters.

"Hi Naruto-Kun, are you ready to go?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I'm almost ready. I just need to get my weapons and I'll be ready to go." He said.

They stayed in the living room while Naruto walked to his family's private weaponry underneath the house where kunai, shuriken, and exploding tags were laid out on a wall counter top that wrapped around the room. The bigger, more heavier and dangerous weapons hung from hooks on the wall. Weapon holsters, travel bags, sealing scrolls, seal papers, and chakra weights were organized neatly underneath the counters.

He grabbed some kunai and placed them in the kunai holster on his weapon belt, before taking some shuriken and a pair of twin combat knives with the Namikaze seal etched on them. Naruto picked up 4 chakra weights and placed them in his jacket before locking the weaponry. When he went back he saw his girls' giggling on the sofa while the men were gazing around the room with polite curiosity and amazement.

"I'm ready to go." Naruto said.

They headed out and on the street while Naruto locked the mansion and gate before joining the rest of the group. The girls were walking in front, talking about how excited they were to be starting their first day at the academy. While they were distracted Hiashi and Sakori and Inoichi walked up beside Naruto and Hiashi spoke quietly to him. "Naruto-San, could you do us a favor?"

"Of course Hiashi-Sama, what is it?" Naruto asked hesitantly, afraid he committed some wrongdoing.

"We would like you to keep an eye on our daughters if you can. You won't have to follow them or anything but we just want you to protect them and keep them safe. Can you do that for us Naruto-San?" asked Inoichi. Naruto let an out a deep breath relieved that he wasn't in trouble.

"Of course Inoichi-Sama, I can do that." He said.

"That's great and thank you Naruto we appreciate it. We would send some members from our clan to watch over them but I don't think the girls' would like that very much. Besides we trust you much more to be dedicated and less distracted than they would. So thank you Naruto-San." Said Sakori.

"You're welcome Sakori-Sama. It's no problem and thank you all for having so much trust and faith in me. I'll protect them with all I've got. Believe it!" exclaimed Naruto.

Hinata, Ino, and Sakura turned around to see Naruto walking behind with their fathers inconspicuously walking behind him. Naruto walked up behind Hinata and Sakura and placed an arm around their shoulders. They giggled as Ino pouted before Naruto reached around Sakura and placed her hand in his before squeezing it. Ino giggled and squeezed back, content for the moment to have such a warm and affectionate contact from her boyfriend.

Soon they found themselves in front of the Shinobi Academy, the sound of laughter and crying as kids prepared to leave their parents. Naruto gulped loudly and began to get slightly nervous, becoming a little pale. His girlfriends noticed this and Hinata and Sakura gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, Ino squeezed his hand and gave him a sly, quick peck on the lips, making Hinata and Sakura giggle before giving him one too.

Thoroughly embarrassed and Naruto looked up to see Sasuke glaring at him directly across the pathway surrounded by a gang of girls giggling and pointing at him while others were trying to get his attention. Anger and hatred spread through his veins as he glared just as spitefully at Sasuke.

If looks could kill both boys would have died ten times over only to die another three times from the intensity of the others gaze. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and though neither said a word their body language was conveying a silent and potent message.

_Sasuke: 'You don't deserve them dobe. One of these days when you slip up my father is going to get rid of you.'_

_Naruto: 'Just try it teme. If you ever try to hurt my girls again your father neither your entire clan will be able to stop me from getting you. Then you'll know exactly what a real demon is and I promise it'll be something you'll never forget. Believe it!'_

Hinata, Ino, and Sakura felt Naruto's body stiffen then vibrate with rage and looked to see what he was staring at that got him worked up. They look and saw him in a staring war with Sasuke and understood what the reaction of seeing another Uchiha did to Naruto. Sasuke saw them glaring at him and the cocky bastard gave them a sly wink and a smirk causing Naruto let out a low growl and his lips pulled back in anger showing his unnaturally white and sharp teeth.

The girls shivered and Hinata and Sakura rubbed their face into Naruto's neck while Ino walked behind Naruto and hid her face on his back wrapping her arms around his waist. The affection seemed to calm him down again as he relaxed his posture but his gaze remained just as intense.

The loud and pitched sound of a bell echoed through the school yard causing Hinata, Ino, and Sakura said goodbye to their fathers before heading into the school still nuzzled against Naruto. Sasuke scowled as Naruto walked pass him before quickly rushing in behind them, his group of fan girls hot on his tail. The group of new students crowded in while the older students walked around the clump of newbie towards their assigned class. A woman in a Jōnin vest stood amidst the group of incoming trainees, her presence and upscale appearance drawing all eyes while Naruto stood nearest to the Jōnin eager to meet a real shinobi up close.

"Alright newbies, Welcome to the Shinobi Academy my name is none of your concern but for instructional purposes you may call me Yuugao-Sensei these next four years are going to be some of the most gruesome and difficult years of your life. I'm sure by the end of the week at least a fourth of you will go and run back crying to your mommy. Unfortunately this is neither the time nor place for the weak hearted and easily afraid, so if you're a cry baby there's no need to waste any more of my time, so you can just leave now." Said the Jōnin.

A couple of students near the back started to shake slightly and a few eyes filled with tears, some even going as far as too run back outside crying for their mother. Naruto felt Ino lean her head against his chest, pressing her back on to his shirt. He kissed the side of her cheek while holding Hinata and Sakura to his side. The Jōnin paused for a moment letting the leaving children be escorted out of the academy.

"Those of you left who still want to go home, there's a desk behind me and a Chūnin secretary and a phone so if at any time you want to leave during this tour feel free. A word of caution though, if you choose so to leave you will not be able to reapply for the academy until the next school year. So don't call your parents and say you want out and when you have a foot out of the door, come back and change your mind. Once your toe lands outside the door you are out of the academy roster end of discussion and you are at no point during the tour to ask to leave or else you will be banned from the academy for life. We will precede with the tour follow me and keep up with the group, no wandering off." Yuugao said.

She led them through the hall as the students clustered behind her eager to keep up. Naruto walked behind his girls while they were talking feverishly excited to finally be in the academy. He was just as if not even more excited though his enthusiasm was more contained at the moment. The instructor stopped in a large hallway filled with sixteen doors visibly placed along and silence besides the excited whispers of the students filling the otherwise desolate hall.

"This is the novice hall where those of you who are selected into the academy roster would otherwise attend your classes. Every semester a roster of students in each class level will be placed in the hallways. You will find your name on the roster with your grades for each class posted next to them. Since the facility can only educate a limited number of students, every semester a select number of students will be released from the academy based on the Shinobi potential decided by your teachers. We are _not _a civilian academy and do not promote students based solely on academic grades. During the determining phase your teachers will have access to your marks and they may or may not influence your advancement. " She said, her eyes roving over the students with a calculating stare.

"However we do have a separate, class standing system, where we list the names of students based on their grades every Friday to give you an idea of what you need to improve on. While it is true we don't rely on grades for promotion we still have to know you are gathering the information correctly and putting it to proper use."

Sasuke smirked from across the hall at Naruto when the instructor wasn't looking obviously indicating he was going to be _the_ top student. Naruto rolled his eyes before focusing his attention back on the Jōnin. She led them to next hall and it was filled with quiet laughter and whispered conversations.

"This is the hall where second year students will attend to classes; as you probably noticed this hall only has twelve classrooms. This is another example of the continuous process of how we weed out the weaklings of each class. We can only train those who have the drive to be the best for our village's most important line of defense. I hope this has given you some insight on how the process of becoming shinobi or kunoichi and what it takes to get there."

She led them down the other halls, classrooms steadily disappearing on each hall. Naruto was in awe of the entire place as he soaked up every detail of the environment, anxious to know and see everything possible.

Soon the students found themselves outside and in a grassy plain. It was filled with trees, numerous gashes lining the trunk and cut foliage spread throughout the grass. Large wooden poles stood at different points of the plain, and rope ladders were scattered everywhere among heavy logs. The Jōnin turned to the students and said, "This is the training fields where you practice the more physical aspects of you Shinobi training, such as Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. Your first year you probably won't get to be out here too much at the most you'll learn the different weapons or how to throw kunai, maybe once a month, but as you advance you'll be spending more time here learning basic training." The students were disappointed to hear they wouldn't be practicing Jutsu that often, but none more than Naruto.

'_Awwww man. I was hoping to learn some skills to protect my precious people. Oh well I still have another three years to do that.' _Thought Naruto.

"Alright kiddies that's the end of our tour. Now head back into the school and go back to the front, there should be a table with Shinobi instructors seated. Go find the one with your name slot, going by last name. After you register for your classes and receive your schedule, A Chūnin instructor will lead you to the courtyard where today, and today only, there will be lunch provided for you. At no other time in your duration of the academy will your food be provided otherwise you are responsible for bringing your food, no exceptions. Out on the field if you forget your supplies, that's it. You don't have anything and you'll be forced to make due using the resources in your environment, if any. Alright kiddies scram." Said the Jōnin, smiling as she watched the children run off.

She watched as Naruto disappeared into the school, remembering the excitement and determination he showed during the tour.

'_Interesting. I'll have to watch out for him. A kid that determined and intelligent can only bring many surprises and plenty of drama._' She thought.

* * *

_Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, Registration Corridor (12:54 P.M.)_

* * *

Naruto stood in line patiently waiting to be registered, for what seemed like hours. Though a good portion of the students were weeded out pr had quit because they wouldn't give them lunch every day, a surprisingly large amount of them stayed; he head-counted about 121 students total and around 74 waiting in line. He was separated from his girls while they were in line, waiting to register too, and none happy at all to be separated from each other. Running a hand through his hair, he noticed the person in front of him stepped out line mumbling something similar to "this school isn't worth it…."

'_120 left. Man is it me or is everybody quitting over the stupidest things_.' Thought Naruto, sighing deeply as he watched the lines shorten and kids running outside, eager to get their lunch.

"Name? Hey kid, are you just going to stand there or are you going register." Said the Chūnin, looking directly at Naruto. He turned around and rubbed a hand behind his head. "Oh yeah, sorry. Name's Naruto……….Uzumaki-Namikaze! Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze!" He quickly added after seeing the Chūnin's inquiring look. The Chūnin's brow furrowed as he wrote down the name, the scar lining the arch of his nose growing prominent. "You sure that's your name kid? Let me see your enrollment papers."

He asked, as Naruto pulled a folder out of his back pack and handed it to him. The Chūnin opened the folder and pulled out the documents and checked the papers' authenticity as he looked over the birth certificates. His face widened in shock and he numbly handed the papers back, writing down Naruto's name on the schedule then handing it to him shaking his head in confusion all the while.

Naruto quickly got out of the line before walking outside, staring at his schedule when he felt someone holding his hand and he turned to see Hinata smiling gently. "Hi Hinata-Chan. Where's Ino and Sakura?" he asked softly, rubbing his thumb against the soft skin of her palm, blushing slightly. She smiled and grabbed his other hand, swinging them back and forth, looking at their joined fingers.

"Sakura went to get us some our lunch and Ino is still waiting to register." Said Hinata glancing at their intertwined hands. Naruto lifted a hand underneath her chin and placed a soft, slow kiss on her lips. Her arms wrapped around his neck, locked into loving embrace with his arms around her waist. She broke the kiss and sighed contently into his shoulder, the feeling of elation spreading through her veins.

'_Nothing could possibly ever be better than this. It feels so good to be wrapped in his arms, so safe and warm._' She thought, taking a deep breath of his scent knowing there was no way this blissful moment could end. She felt a tap on her shoulder and saw a brown haired boy with red markings on his cheeks, giving Naruto an appraising look before looking back at her.

"Hey, my name's Kiba Inuzuka! What's your name?" He asked, holding out his hand; directing the question at Hinata, indicating that Naruto was not invited to join the conversation. Though neither was happy to break from their embrace, Hinata politely turned around and shook hands with Kiba.

"Hello, Kiba-San. My name is Hinata Hyūga and this is my boyfriend, Naruto." Hinata said, grabbing his hand and pulling around her waist. "Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, otherwise known as Hinata's boyfriend." Naruto said, shaking his hand and gripping it tightly before letting go. Kiba looked back and forth between them, this time replying to Naruto. "Hey, aren't you dating Ino and Sakura?"

"Yes he is dog boy. What's it to you?" said Ino, coming up on Naruto's other side and grabbing hold of his other hand. He pulled her in to his chest just as Sakura walked up with 4 bento boxes in her left hand and began blushing when Naruto grabbed her free hand and wrapped an arm around her waist but conceded by laying her head against his shoulder. Kiba looked as though he just received the shock of his life, when he shakily pointed a finger at them. "You mean you're dating all three of them?" he asked, receiving a nod from Sakura and Ino. "This can't be happening! It just can't!" he said, not believing he was being outdone by a kid 3 months younger than him.

"I asked Ino and Sakura out before and they turned me down with a second look. Then you just go off with this guy on 1 date and now you're together like that? This is ridiculous!" shouted Kiba, drawing the attention of others in the court yard. Naruto growled lowly at the way Kiba spoke and was only able to calm down with the gentle looks from his girls. The protective boyfriend inside him wanted to throttle Kiba for dare talking about them like that but his sensible side knew Hinata, Ino, and Sakura probably wouldn't like that very much.

"I'm sorry you feel that way Kiba-San but we really have to eat our lunch. I'm getting kind of hungry." Naruto said, hoping to quell the boiling emotions and finally having some alone time with his girlfriends. They started to leave but Kiba grabbed Naruto's shoulder and spun him around. "Hold up there, Namikaze. I don't care if you are the 4th's son, you don't deserve to have those three. I'll fight you for them and once everyone else sees how badly I beat the Yondaime's son they'll have to promote right away. Come on fight me!" Said Kiba, getting into a fighting stance and glaring at Naruto.

Naruto looked at his girlfriends and back at Kiba; his mind was torn between the two because he really wanted to have some time with them but he really wanted this guy to leave them alone and knew he wouldn't do that if Naruto didn't answer his challenge and have people fighting him 'cause they thought he was a wuss.

"I'm sorry Kiba-San, I can't fight you for them because they are not a prize to be won. They have their own choice to choose who they want and I won't take it from them. However, I will fight you to show that having a big name doesn't mean having much respect." Naruto said quietly, not wanting to draw any more attention to the situation.

Kiba snarled and said, "Whatever man. After I kick your butt, they'll see how cool I am and leave you for me. So let's go and fight! Come on!" Naruto sighed and shook his head nonchalantly, looking at Kiba and waiting from him to attack. Kiba growled and aimed a punch straight at his head, intending to leave a mark; Naruto quickly sidestepped the blow and Kiba overshot and fell 5 feet from where Naruto was standing. Quickly he got back up and charged at Naruto, roaring as he tried to hit him; Naruto let Kiba tackle him but quickly turned him around holding his arms in a full nelson and applying more pressure to the strained joints. He watched as Kiba struggled in his arm lock, yelling in pain every time he tried to pull too far.

Naruto quickly let Kiba out of his hold and cracked his knuckles watching Kiba carefully. Kiba ran towards him again angrily roaring as he attacked, this time aiming where it would hurt most of all. Kiba aimed low heading towards Naruto's crotch, running full speed and wanting this collision to hurt. Naruto felt Kiba tackle him low and quickly used his feet to hold to Kiba's ribs as he did a back flip bringing him and Kiba up in the air before slamming down onto the ground slowing the impact at the last second. After landing on his stomach, he released his legs from Kiba's ribs and jumped up before walking over to him and kneeling down poking a finger at his vest.

"Listen, I don't know what was running through your head when you challenged me but next time think twice about it. It's one thing to challenge me because you want to woo my girls but don't challenge me because of my name. Just because I'm the fourth's son doesn't mean I'm any better or worse than you and thinking that beating me will give you some respect was foolish. I had to earn my respect and you will too because after just making a complete fool of yourself you'll have to earn what respect you had before back." Naruto said lowly enough that Kiba could hear but with such a furious expression that Kiba knew he wasn't kidding.

He stood up and saw everyone outside staring at him with awe and envy; soon the courtyard was filled with whispers and giggles as people pointed at Naruto. He walked over to his three girls and began walking to a big tree in one corner of the courtyard; before sitting underneath the tree and was soon embraced by Ino and Sakura, whispering how cool it was to watch him fight Kiba and how amazing he looked when he did that back flip.

He listened to their praise while blushing and saw Hinata simply smiling at him; soon he found himself smiling back and continued eating his bento. He wasn't surprised that by the time he finished his food that Hinata and Ino were asleep, lying against his side happily; Sakura was leaning her back against his chest and smiled when she saw him. "You're not sleepy either?" he asked, quietly to keep form waking the 2 slumbering girls up.

Sakura just shook her head and blushed at sudden thought that crossed her mind. Naruto nudged her gently, silently asking what she was thinking about. He saw her bite her lip before slowly turning around and placing a hand against his cheek. He figured what she was thinking about and initiated it by placing his lips gently against hers. She sighed softly and gently rubbed his cheek, never breaking the kiss. Neither wanted to move because they didn't want the kiss to end, and were continuing to breathe through their nose. Sakura pulled away taking a deep breath and swatting him on the shoulder as he laughed softly at her lack of breath, wiggling his eyebrows and making her laugh too. She turned back around leaned against his chest stifling a yawn.

* * *

_Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, Main Entrance Hall (3:00 p.m.)_

* * *

School was out and Naruto was going walk Hinata, Sakura, and Ino home. The fight between Naruto and Kiba had spread around the entire school and he found girls walking up to him asking to go on dates with him. Though he was quite flattered he always politely declined, saying he was taken but they still wouldn't back off until they saw his girlfriends' murderous glares. Many of the guys in the school wanted to fight him for the same reasons as Kiba.

He just ignored them and continued walking. Though he couldn't ignore the Chūnin's praises as they saw him fight with Kiba. This surprised Naruto more than any of the other things because he didn't think teachers could show favoritism. They were walking outside until Sasuke stepped in front of Naruto, stopping him from going forward. Sasuke smirked at the annoyed expression on his face and started towards Naruto, trying to appear bigger than him.

"So dobe, you think because you beat up some little mutt, it means you're the top student and that I'm weaker than you. I'll show everyone how weak you really are and how great I am. Then once everyone sees how pathetic you are your little "friends" will want nothing to do with you and will come running straight to me. Who knows? Maybe when we're older they might carry the next Uchiha Clan heir or multiple heirs if I have anything to say about it." Sasuke sneered, smirking when he saw Naruto's face tighten and his body begin to shake in fury; he wasn't worried though, the dobe may be powerful but he wouldn't dare hurt him because he was an Uchiha.

Naruto was shaking with unspeakable fury and shocked everyone and even himself when his fist connected solidly with Sasuke's jaw. He stared at his hand and back at Sasuke before hitting his jaw again knocking him on the ground. His other fist connected with the Uchiha's nose and before he knew it he couldn't stop himself from beating the boy into the ground. His fists connected with every inch of Sasuke he could reach making each blow harder than the last.

After what seemed like an eternity he felt someone trying to pull himself off of Sasuke; he shook them off and continued to pummel the raven haired boy into the ground, his face covered in blood and screaming in pain. It was like he had no control over his body and felt more hands grabbing at him, pulling him off of Sasuke. The fury he felt was overwhelming and he managed to escape their hands and soon kicked Sasuke harshly in the ribs, feeling a crack underneath the soles of his boots.

He kicked him twice before getting down and attacking Sasuke's face again feeling satisfaction every time his fist connected with Sasuke. Two pairs of arms grabbed his hands pulling them behind his back and he felt someone pulling his head up by the roots of his hair. "Stop it kid! Stop! You've beaten him up enough already." Said a voice Naruto assumed to be a Chūnin instructor. Naruto looked down and saw Sasuke was a bruised and blood covered mess and still thought the little jerk got off easy.

He couldn't resist giving him a swift and powerful kick to the groin and grinned when he heard him howl. Gasps were heard as Naruto saw everyone staring at him before looking at Sasuke then at his blood covered hands. He saw his own group of fan girls looking at him in shock and what seemed to be a small amount of awe. Most importantly he saw the faces of his three angels looking at him with surprise and disbelief.

'_Way to go Namikaze they probably really think you're a demon now!_' He thought.

Their expressions quickly changed to distress as they saw him tackled and handcuffed and roughly lifted to his feet. Naruto looked around and it seemed that even more people had appeared. Looking towards Sasuke he saw that his "babysitter" aka his big brother, was kneeling beside him listening to his moans of suffering. He didn't get to look at much else because he was soon pushed forward and instructed to keep walking.

He saw the faces of Hinata, Ino and Sakura as it seemed they were scared for him; he gave them a small smile before he was forced to keep moving. As he neared the gate he saw the Uchiha triplets, freezing in shock and fear as he stared at them; he gave them a small grin of defeat before being escorted to the Hokage Tower.

* * *

**Wow that's intense. Long overdue but lengthy and my best work if I say so myself.**


	10. Insult To Injury

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Ten**

**Insult to Injury**

(~**Monday, October 19****th****~) **

**4:20 P.M.**

Naruto sat quietly in the armchair twiddling his thumbs together and waiting nervously inside of the Hokage's office. The Council was holding a meeting in the conference room to decide the actions that would be taken against him for beating Sasuke. When the meeting first started the sound of yelling was easily heard but now it had quieted down substantially. The silence didn't make him feel any less anxious but served to make him even more worried.

'_What if they kick me out of the Academy because of this? What if they won't let me see Hinata-Chan, Sakura-Chan, or Ino-Chan again? Or even worse, what if they don't want to see me again?' _He felt the bile in his throat rise in panic at not being able to see his girls again. _'If I were them right now I wouldn't want to see me either. That would be worse than exiling me; to think I would be so close to them but forbidden to even speak to them. That would be torture! I hope Jiji-Sama believes me.'_

There was quick rapture on the door and Naruto jumped when he saw his Jiji-Sama followed closely by Fugaku and a heavily bandaged & mortally frightened Sasuke. The raven haired Uchiha blanched pale as a sheet when he saw him in the room and quickly went to cower by the door frame, refusing to take one step into the doorway. Fugaku made a sound of disgust at his son, who blushed embarrassingly but remained hidden in his shadow shaking violently with fear and dread. Naruto felt sympathy and a little guilt towards Sasuke, looking over his bruised & tender form. Fugaku shook his head and slammed the door in Sasuke's face, rattling the frame from the sheer force.

"Ah, Naruto-Kun you're here! This is good news! I thought would have to send ANBU to track you down. Everyone please have a seat so I can deliver the Council's decision." Said the Hokage taking a seat behind his desk and adding tobacco to his pipe.

Naruto resumed his seat, bowing his head and squeezing his eyes shut as though it would block out the sounds around him. Fugaku choosing to sit directly in front of the Hokage sneering with contempt and arrogance. While the Sandaime was trying to light his pipe, Fugaku glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye with such intense hate that anyone else would want to cower behind the chair. Even with his eyes closed, Naruto sensed it but remained in his current position more overcome with worry of the chance he might lose his most precious people. He did, however, scrunch his eyebrow in confusion at the elder Uchiha's "intimidating" antics.

'_Why is Uchiha-Teme looking at me like that? Does he think I'm supposed to be scared or something? Or maybe he just has a stomach ache if he's making that kind of face. It looks like he's constipated.'_

"So..." Began the Sandaime after finally lighting his pipe. "As you know the Council held an emergency disciplinary meeting to decide the consequences of one, Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze's actions against Sasuke Uchiha. After much deliberation and compromise the council has made their decision; but before I tell you the verdict I must ask you, Naruto. Are you truly regretful of what you did and think that there was a better way you could have possibly handled the situation?"

They watched his response closely but none more than Fugaku, ready to lash out the second he slipped up. Naruto thought about it deeply trying to figure out if he was really sorry for what he did.

"Jiji-Sama I am sorry that I beat up Sasuke so badly but I am not sorry for standing up for my precious people. If I could go back to the moment I released the first punch I would do it over and over again because that's how much my precious people mean to me; and I will sacrifice all I have to prevent anything from harming them."

The room was eerily silent for a moment until the Sandaime smiled widely and continued huffing on his pipe. "Good answer Naruto. It warms my heart to see that a boy in your youth is able to grasp the true concept of being a Shinobi so quickly. You would make a great Shinobi one day and a rather excellent leader as well, just like your parents." The praise sent Naruto wiggling in his seat slightly, blushing from the praise. Fugaku was livid his fingers clutching the wooden arms of the chair so tightly that they were starting to splinter, gritting his teeth in frustration and anger.

"The Civilian Council voted 9:1 that Naruto would be exiled from Konohagakure never to return again." Naruto's head fell and he swallowed heavily all hope and happiness fleeing from his body at once. Fugaku smiled sinisterly happy to be rid of the "demon-child"; He knew that now would be the perfect time to force an arranged marriage between the Hyūga, Haruno and Yamanaka when the fools would realize that they found the brat to truly be demon because of his exile. It would be the perfect stint to elevate the Uchiha in position to take over Konohagakure.

"However the Shinobi Council voted 9:1 that Naruto is to be pardoned this time for his actions because no matter how drastic and rash they were, it displayed a noble action of protecting comrades and sacrificing self-happiness for the protection of others. Something that is needed in order to become a great ninja." Naruto brightened slightly taking a wild and correct guess at the opposing Shinobi Clan who voted for his exile.

"So that means that the vote is even with 10 votes for the exile of Uzumaki and 10 votes for the pardon of Uzumaki. What's the final decision? Who has the final vote?" Fugaku asked banging his fists on the desk and leaning across from the Hokage.

"I do Uchiha-San and would kindly appreciate it if you wouldn't mind knocking things off of my desk and returning to your seat." The Uchiha sat back in his chair but doing so with no small amount of malice.

"After listening to both sides of the story and carefully watching your reactions I have decided that Naruto-Kun be pardoned for his actions on the basis that his intentions were noble and acceptable to the degree that what was said by Sasuke-Kun was highly inappropriate and possibly punishable by law. Fugaku you should teach your son that he cannot just go and say whatever he feels due to your family's position in the village."

"I hope that he learns from this and realizes that it is the hard life of a Shinobi whether he thinks it's fair or not. Outside of the village if he had said something like that to an enemy Shinobi they would have killed him without remorse and feel no amount of guilt or emotion, unlike Naruto-Kun has shown. Except their actions would not have been as noble or as rash; they would've killed him just because. Please try to teach him that Fugaku-San before he goes too far astray."

Naruto smiled happily and sighed with heavy relief and began to speak to Fugaku. "Fugaku-Sama I apologize for hurting Sasuke but I did not intend to go that far and injure him so badly. Please pass along my apology to Sasuke-San and tell him I am deeply sorry for what I did and hope we don't have to be on hostile terms. I also apologize to you Fugaku-Sama for any embarrassment and shame that my actions may have put upon you Clan and would like you to know that wasn't my intention." Even if he didn't like Fugaku he would at least be respectful and try to put this behind them.

'_Though the man did try to kill me...'_

Fugaku was a little surprised at Naruto's apology but sneered in vicious hatred when he came to the conclusion that the demon was mocking him. His teeth gritted loudly and his fists clenched tightly turning the knuckles white and cracking loudly.

"I will never accept an apology from you, you demon! How dare you sit there and mock me with your words? I am an Uchiha and the only person you've brought shame on is yourself, Kyūbi."

Hokage shook his head disappointedly at Fugaku's refusal. He felt that Naruto's apology was honest and sincere but it was more than obvious Fugaku considered that he was far too above in contempt of Naruto to forgive him. He stood up quickly; his previously occupied chair knocked to the ground drew all attention to him.

"Hokage-Sama this is an outrage! THAT DEMON SPAWN NEARLY KILLED MY SON AND NOW YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LET HIM GO FREE?" Fugaku said angrily, pointing at Naruto who just crossed his arms and stared pointedly between the Hokage and Fugaku.

"Fugaku-San I would suggest you calm yourself. We are among a younger audience here and I would like to keep the obscenities to a minimum." Said the Hokage firmly, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Forget the brat! You're going to let that demon bastard go free based on what? The fact that you found his actions to be noble? There was nothing noble about his actions Sarutobi he was intentionally trying to kill my son and might have succeeded had the Chūnin not intervened! This is ridiculous Hokage-Sama!" The title rolled out like a bitter acid from his throat.

"You're showing favoritism because you are sympathetic towards the demon! If you let him go, then what? You're going to wait until he attacks someone else to finally be rid of him? He has already attacked another child of a Shinobi Clan named Kiba Inuzuka! Why didn't you punish him for that?"

"I have already spoken to the head of the Inuzuka Clan, Tsume Inuzuka, and she has agreed the fight that erupted between Kiba-Kun and Naruto-Kun was no fault of Naruto's. Tsume-San told me that Kiba admitted to starting the fight and holds no grudge against Naruto for fighting back." Replied the Hokage coolly.

"That demon has you under his spell and I refuse to let him stay alive while there's still the chance that he can massacre our entire village. If you are just going to sit there smoking on a damn pipe while this demon kills us one by one I'm going to take this up with the council. If I were Hokage villainous traitors to the Uchiha like you would be killed on site." Fugaku said slamming his fists against the Hokage's desk leaving a long crack in the middle. The Hokage crushed his pipe in anger and stood up quickly all calmness and civility gone from his voice.

"Fugaku you are far too out of line! You are now stripped of your Shinobi Rank until I say otherwise and your seat on the council is relinquished until your rank is restored! Guards come and remove this man from my office and make sure to escort him straight home!"

Three ANBU came and Fugaku was escorted out, Sasuke following along right behind him glancing inquisitively at the Hokage.

"I'm so sorry you had to witness that Naruto-Kun but you already know the things that he said are not true. Please just ignore the spiteful and false words of a stubborn man and continue on with yourself. Ah, I almost forgot. Why don't you tell me about your first day at the Academy, aside from the incident? I'm rather interested to see how things went."

Naruto spent the better part of an hour telling the Hokage about his day at the academy. The Sandaime listened attentively occasionally puffing on the smoker's pipe he found in his split desk, asking questions here and there. The sky was beginning to tint with hues of yellow and Sarutobi thought it was time to let Naruto go for the day.

"Well Naruto-Kun I guess you should be going home now as I'm sure that you have a busy day tomorrow at the Academy." The Sandaime added trying to lighten the mood. Naruto smiled and headed out of the door waving back at him.

"See you later, Jiji-Sama and thanks for believing in me!"

The Hokage smiled watching as he ran out of the door.

"You're more than welcome Naruto-Kun. More than welcome." The Hokage said quietly, glancing at the corner and taking a long huff of his pipe. "Are you sure he's the one Yūgao wants, Senshi-San?" The cloaked ANBU nodded. The Hokage sighed deeply, puffing his pipe in thought.

"Well then I guess you can go after him but please try not to push him too far. The last thing I want is Minato and Kushina coming after me in my death because I broke their son. Minato would kill me and Kushina…" The Hokage shivered with the thought of her wrath. "I just better hope Minato gets to me before Kushina can."

The ANBU bowed to Sarutobi before disappearing in swirl of leaves.

**5:33 P.M.**

Naruto sat on a stool nursing his 4th bowl of ramen, slurping the broth and licking his lips with a smack. The chef, Teuchi, glanced over at him and took up his empty bowl putting it in the sink. "Another bowl, Naruto?" The old man asked, washing his hands and drying them with a towel. Naruto shook his head and stood up to leave.

"No thanks, Teuchi-San. I'll see you tomorrow." Teuchi waved at him, watching him walk out of the stand.

'_That kid…he's going places that's for sure.'_ Teuchi thought, shaking his head and scrubbing the dishes.

The streets were nearly empty except for a few vendors, hoping to make a little more money at night, just beginning to close up shop. Naruto was grateful that no one seemed to notice him walking around so close to the nighttime. The walk to the his home was uneventful but he did get the strange feeling that someone was following him just waiting for him to let his guard down. He walked slowly feeling a weak and silent disturbance in the air, which he took to be the sound of someone breathing.

Naruto shook his head and relaxed his shoulder, realizing how paranoid he must be thinking that someone was following him. Unfortunately that's when Naruto's follower chose to pounce and knocked him out cold with quick strike to the back of his head, disappearing into the shadows without a trace.

**(~Undisclosed Location~)**

Naruto awoke groggily feeling a sharp pain in the back of his head. His wrists and ankles were cuffed to what felt like a table and he blinked rapidly noticing his eyes were covered with a blind fold. He heard the sound of voices whispering and strained to hear what they were saying.

"You idiot, what the hell did you do to him, Dragon? You must've hit him too hard he's been asleep for hours!"

"I'm sorry, Neko-Sama. I didn't think I hit him too hard."

"Well that's just like you Dragon! Underestimating your power! Remember the last time you did that you knocked our source dead! We were supposed to just torture him until we got enough information out of him but instead you went and killed him! Imagine how much trouble you'll be in now that you've killed the fourth's son!"

"Shut up, Falcon! I didn't kill him alright! I'm sure he's just…really tired! Yeah! That's it!"

"…"

"…"

"…whatever idiot. It's your funeral."

"Will two fools shut up? Or Kami so help me I'll kick both of your asses!"

(Simultaneously) "Yes, Neko-Sama."

"Finally! Dragon, go and check on the kid. I think he should be awake by now."

"Yes, Neko-Sama."

The sound of footsteps echoed against Naruto's ear drums and the footsteps started coming closer and closer until he heard them stop. Fingers touched the side of his neck and he heard snapping next to his ear.

"Neko-Sama he's awake!" Said the voice, removing their hands from him.

"Well what are you waiting for Dragon? Him to ask you out on a date? Remove the blindfold!"

"Hai Neko-Sama." The stranger reached behind his head and unfastened the blindfold, light hitting Naruto's eyes intensely causing him to squint. He saw three figures wearing face masks and one appeared to be a girl. Her mask was that of a cat so he guessed that she was the one they called Neko-Sama! The other two called Dragon and Falcon were standing next to her watching him very closely.

"Welcome Naruto-Kun! I hope you don't mind the restraints because I wasn't sure how you were going to react to what I'm about to tell you." Said Neko-Sama, slowly waiting for his reaction. Her voice sounded familiar to him and that's when he realized that Neko-Sama was really….

"Yūgao-Sensei? It is you!"

Dragon and Falcon rushed towards him unsheathing their swords until they heard Yūgao's command.

"Wait you idiots! Don't hurt him and put your swords away. If you two dumb asses didn't react the kid probably would've been unsure of my identity but since you idiots tried to kill him now he knows." Dragon and Falcon looked down at the ground, the skin beneath their masks turning red. Yūgao removed her mask and walked over to him, releasing him from the confines. Naruto rubbed his wrist but stayed on the table, taking notice of the room around him. The room was virtually empty and gave of a cold and desolate vibe. The walls were painted to resemble steel but it wasn't until he actually rubbed his fingers along the wall next to him that he noticed it really was metal.

On the floor beneath, he saw there was a symbol painted in the middle of the room, closely resembling a wisp of flame. There was no sign of a door and Naruto realized that this was probably a room that they used to hold people and demoralize their spirits with the conception of having no way out.

"Ah, Naruto-Kun. I see you have realized the purpose of this room. Now it's time to tell you why you're here. You have been chosen as a candidate for a special and elite branch of Shinobi in our village called the ANBU. We specialize in assassination and torture and take orders only directly from the Hokage. Our lives are in jeopardy every second we live and if an enemy was to find out our identity that would be the end and they could hold power over the village that you couldn't imagine were they to extract information. The Shinobi of our rank are very far and few but they are the main force between preventing wars between our village and other Shinobi countries. Though the life of the average Shinobi is reasonably less than a regular civilian, ANBU ninja's lives are even shorter than that; if you aren't careful."

"I'm offering you an invitation into the ANBU as a Junior Recruit. Should you accept it the training will be intense and you will have little to no personal time at all during the probation period. The period is three years and at the end you will become a full fledged Shinobi of high caliber while your little friends are starting off only as Genin. When you have completed the training you will be allowed to take on S-Rank missions and above receiving high pay plus a commission (200,000,000 ryō per year). Do you accept this invitation Naruto-Kun?"

They looked expectantly at him, while he sat quietly seriously considering the deal inside of his head.

'_If I do this then I'll get stronger to protect my precious people! I can definitely do this.' _Naruto thought and opened his mouth to speak before he took into consideration that he didn't even know if his precious people would want to even be around him anymore. _'What would be the point of it if I couldn't even talk to them? What then? ...Maybe I won't be able to see them anymore but at least I could protect them without them knowing. Even if they wouldn't want to see me at least I would feel better by knowing they were safe.'_

"I accept you invitation Yūgao-Sensei! But will this mean I'll have to quit the Academy?"

Yūgao shook her head and extended a hand to help him off the table. "No Naruto-Kun. Even though you are being trained for the ANBU it's important for you to know the basics. However there is something else I neglected to tell you." She smirked happily looking at him with regarding eyes.

"After three years you will have an additional test to take. This test is to be inducted to an even more elite form of ANBU called the ANBU Black Ops (ANBU Black Operations). There are 100 ANBU in this village including a separate branch called ROOT. We perform more dangerous and unranked missions that are high priority and our objective is to have a lasting result from the mission but to execute it quickly. I will conduct the final test for you and if you pass it without fail then you will officially become an ANBU. Are we clear Naruto-Kun? Do you wish me to rescind your invitation?"

Naruto shook his head determinedly, feeling his body numb with adrenaline.

"Good. For the next three years we will be your ANBU Instructors. You are to tell no one of this or of your training because if you do that would be considered treason. If you had not accepted the invitation, we would have had to kill you." They stared at her in surprise hearing Naruto gulp loudly.

"Don't worry. I was just kidding." The smile on her face didn't make them any less uncomfortable. "Come on Naruto-Kun it's time to get you home."

He felt another swift blow to the neck becoming unconscious but not before he heard… "You idiot, Dragon! Stop doing that! You'll give him a concussion if he hits the ground that hard again."

"Ha-Hai! Sorry Neko-Sama."

(~**Tuesday, October 20****th****~)  
7:45 A.M.**

Naruto lay stretched in his bed yawning loudly before looking at the alarm clock on his bedside table. His muscles popped loudly resetting his spine returning in its place, in an almost domino effect. It was obvious that his body was still sore from everything that happened to him yesterday and was relaxing after the stress.

'_How long was I out? It feels like someone's been whacking me in the back of the head with a stick! Well I'll go back to sleep its only 7:45 school starts at eight so I got another hour.'_

His body caught up with his mind when he realized he only had fifteen minutes until school started. Naruto rushed through his morning routine skipping breakfast to hurry out of the house at 7:54 speeding out towards the Academy. People stared at him curiously but he ignored them, focusing on the schedule in his hand. There were no students out in the courtyard and he followed the schedule to his class room just barely making it through the door before the bell rung. Everyone already there turned to stare at him taking in his disheveled appearance. The room was completely silent and he rubbed the back of his head wondering how he always came to be the center of attention.

He noticed that Kiba was sitting at a table with some pineapple kid and a boy with round cheeks covered with red swirls. His eyes scanned the room until they found his angels sitting at a bench together while Sasuke tried to lure them into conversation. They were either completely oblivious to him or as he morosely feared, they were just ignoring him completely. Naruto just sighed in defeat and slowly went to find himself a seat.

'_They didn't even notice I was here! It must mean that they don't want anything to do with me. Oh great! I really screwed up now!'_

The classroom was packed and there were no empty tables for him to sit at.

'_I guess I'll have to sit with someone else then.' _He didn't have much time to sulk around because what happened next was just the beginning of his daily disaster for the next 4 years of his life…

"Naruto! Naruto-Kun! Sit here by me!" Screamed a girl with blond hair pointing to the seat next to her.

"Are you kidding Tori? Naruto-Kun doesn't want to sit next to you! He wants to sit by me right Naruto-Kun?"

The room broke out in argument as the girls tried to get Naruto to sit next to them. One girl came up and dragged Naruto to her seat before the others caught on and began to pull Naruto to their table. Naruto was feeling similar to a rubber band being pulled in many directions at one time.

'_Man, this many girls never wanted me to sit next to them at the orphanage!'_

Just when he thought he was going to lose a limb, Hinata, Ino, and Sakura _came_ to his rescue and yanked him from their grasps dragging him to their table. The crowd quickly dispersed frightened of their fury. His fan girls were rather disappointed but Naruto was grateful to be rescued from their clutches.

He'd noticed that Sasuke had disappeared to a separate table far on the other side of the room. His fan girls saw this and pounced rushing over to get a seat next to him causing Naruto to feel a little sympathy towards him. Naruto felt himself embraced tightly and saw Hinata crying into his neck. Ino's and Sakura's eyes were beginning to water too as they embraced him tightly sniffling into his shirt.

"Oh Naruto-Kun we thought something terrible happened!" Cried Hinata into his shirt her voice muffled by the fabric.

"Yeah we thought they might've gotten rid of you Naruto-Kun! We were so scared!" Sakura added, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Don't ever do that again! Ok Naruto-Kun? Don't scare us like that." Ino whimpered, her lower lip trembling violently.

Naruto felt horrible for making them worry so much and embraced them back into his arms.

"I'm sorry Hinata-Chan. Sakura-Chan. Ino-Chan." He whispered softly, "I didn't realize how much this affected you too. I promise you will never have to worry about that anymore."

Everyone else wasn't paying them attention, too lost in their conversations. However, he did feel a stare on him and saw Sasuke looking at them with fear and jealousy; Naruto chose to ignore it and focus on the three most important people in his life right now.

The classroom quieted down instantly when the teacher arrived, the same Chūnin who registered Naruto with the scar on his nose.

"Good morning students. I am Iruka Umino but you may only refer me to me as Iruka-Sensei. I'm taking role call so when I call out your name answer me. If you're here say 'Here!' or 'Present'. If you're not here, then don't say anything and we'll pretend that you are. If you don't want to be here say nothing and we'll pretend that you aren't." The students had a small laugh about that and Iruka smiled, calling names out from the list.

The list took a while after all, having a classroom with 120 kids was no easy thing to read aloud but eventually he was down to the last name.

"Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze? Is he here?" Asked Iruka wiping the sweat from his forehead squinting up to find him. All eyes turned to where Naruto was and he blushed under the attention and let Iruka know he was here. Iruka gasped quietly noticing how the sunlight from the window reflected off Naruto, making him the splitting image of a younger Yondaime.

'_Well this kid's certainly is going to be interesting to teach.' _Thought Iruka, shaking his head slowly and putting away the list.

"This is just an introductory class for the first semester; the purpose of this is to get you used to school like knowing where classes are and what different subjects require different material. The list of classes on the schedule will be your definite courses for the first year in order. The Chūnin that registered you should have given you one yesterday if they didn't then come up here so I can make one for you. Take them out and examine what classes you have."

Naruto reached into the folds of his back pack and pulled out the piece of paper, examining the hand written text upon it. His eyes scanned down the sheet until he found his list of classes:

01- Academy Introductory Course _(1 semester)_

02- Ninjutsu Introductory Practical Course _(2 semesters)_

03- Genjutsu Introductory Practical Course_ (2 semesters)_

04- Taijutsu Introductory Practical Course_ (2 semesters)_

05- Shinobi History & Knowledge Introductory Course _(2 semesters)_

06- Strategy & Tactical Intelligence Introductory Course _(2 semesters)_

Additional Courses:

01- Weapon Introductory Course_ (1 semester)_

"What classes did you get Naruto-Kun?" Naruto showed them his schedule and was surprised but happy, when he saw that they had the same exact schedule as him.

"This is going to be so cool. We'll have the same classes and we won't have to be away from you, Naruto-Kun." Ino said happily, holding his hand between hers. Naruto smiled and kissed her quickly on the cheek, sending a rosy blush to her cheeks. The door opened and a Chūnin walked over to Iruka and handed him a piece of paper. Iruka read it and looked at the Chūnin inquiringly, obviously thinking there to be a mistake. The Chūnin shook his head and walked out of the door, leaving a classroom of curious students in his wake. Iruka just read the paper over and over again, the furrow between his brows growing deeper.

"What is it Iruka-Sensei?" Asked a small boy with red hair.

"Well…it seems that Naruto-Kun won't be joining us for this class or any of the other classes for that matter." Iruka said, his eyes turning to Naruto. Naruto slinked in his chair, wanting to crawl in a hole away from the hundreds of eyes burning a hole through him.

"Mr. Namikaze will you please come up here. It seems that you've been promoted."

"Promoted?" Was the question that was echoed around the room as Naruto walked to Iruka; who handed him a new schedule without even bothering to look at him. The new schedule had some different and more advanced course than his other schedule:

01- Fūinjutsu Advanced Practical Course _(2 semesters)_

02- Kenjutsu Advanced Practical Course _(2 semesters)_

03- Ninjutsu Advanced Practical Course (2 semesters)

04- Genjutsu Advanced Practical Course (2 semesters_)_

05- Taijutsu Advanced Practical Course _(2 semesters)_

06- Shinobi Tactical Knowledge & History Course _(2 semesters)_

"Just go outside and there should be someone waiting for you out in the hall Naruto-Kun." Said Iruka staring off into space dazedly. Naruto saw his three most precious people looking at him in wonder. He waved somberly ignoring the stares and whispers as he exited the classroom.

"Naruto-Kun over here." There was Yūgao without her mask flanked by Dragon and Falcon, who were also without mask. Dragon was a tall guy about a couple inches taller that Yūgao, his brown hair was short and messy like a bad case of bed hair. Falcon was the shortest standing at about 5'4" his hair was dark and slicked to the side, closely resembling Sasuke's.

"Yūgao-Sensei? What are you doing here?"

Yūgao just smirked and began walking away indicating for him to follow. He followed her to up two flights of stairs and into a large empty classroom with only one desk and a chalkboard. Yūgao went over to a refrigerator in the corner and pulled out a stick of Dango. "Sorry, I was hungry. Now…..what was your question?" Naruto sweat dropped and repeated his question, holding the new schedule tightly inside of his fist.

"Oh that?" She asked with a mouthful of Dango. "Well it's like I told you yesterday Naruto-Kun. You will still have to learn the basics of being a Shinobi and we're going to be stuffing 36 years of concentrated information and lessons on being a Shinobi into you in within the next 3 years. After that time you'll take the test that I have planned for you in your fourth year of the Academy. I'm your new instructor for your classes and will be teaching you."

Naruto's froze for a moment while his head crunched down the numbers. 36 years of Shinobi training ÷ 3 years = 12 years of Shinobi Training per year. He didn't want to divide any further or else he felt that his head would spin.

**01- Fūinjutsu**

"Don't worry Naruto-Kun. It seems like a lot but it really isn't." He just looked at her incredulously shaking his head. "Come on let's start with your first lesson on Fūinjutsu. Fūinjutsu is a special branch of Jutsu." She started using the chalk to start write words on the board. Dragon walked over and gave him a stack of paper and Falcon gave him a sharp pencil, placing a few more on his desk.

"It is used to change restrictions or limitations on living things or inanimate objects. The most common way for it to be used is on other ninja to give them increased power if they're an ally or to restrict their power heavily, possibly using it for torture if they are an enemy ninja." Naruto wrote down everything she said occasionally ask something. He was surprised that she didn't scold him for asking questions but she actually seemed pretty pleased about it.

**02- Kenjutsu**

There was long while when Naruto felt that his hand would fall off and thankfully the bell rang. Yūgao took mercy on him, letting him rest before starting the second lesson on Kenjutsu. Looking over his notes, he saw there were 5 pages of his handwriting covering the paper.

"You know Naruto-Kun you didn't have to write down everything I said. Start writing with your left hand. Your right hand looks like it's about to fall off straight. Moving on Kenjutsu is the art of sword technique. As an ANBU it is mandatory that you master the skill and that you are fluid in the movements of the sword. It should feel like an extension of your body and you should move together as one. Did you get that? Good."

Yūgao reached behind her back and extracted twin katana from the straps on her back. They were 60 centimeters in length but Yūgao handled them gracefully twirling them between her fingers and slicing the air with swift movements. The men were mesmerized by her movements ignoring the fact that she was twirling a sharp and rather dangerous weapon in her hand and if she slipped, one of them could possibly be injured or killed. She stopped and smirked when she saw them drooling. Placing the katana back into their holster Yūgao sat on the desk and crossed her legs, acting as though nothing just happened.

"The more experience with your blade that you have the quicker and more effective your moves will come. We'll get more into the physical parts of the Jutsu later but for right now Naruto-Kun take notes."

It was a struggle at first, his words looking like a bad cartoon sketch but eventually his handwriting became legible enough that if one scrunched their eyes, stood on their head and turned their body to the left then you might actually be able to make out a word or two. At the end of the lesson Naruto felt like he would he would develop arthritis at a young age as he ignored Yūgao's advice and wrote down everything she said to the end.

'_Better safe than sorry.'_

**Lesson 03- Ninjutsu:**

"Don't worry your hand will get better Naruto-Kun. This lesson is purely verbal and practical though I won't stop you if you want to take notes anyway. We're going to practice some Ninjutsu so take out your weapons so I can see what we can start with today." Naruto pulled out the weapons in his pack, covering the small desk completely.

"Not bad. You have the basic Genin weapons in the Kunai and Shuriken, though I must say the combat knives are an excellent addition. Did Buki make them for you?" She hummed thoughtfully when she saw him nod lowly. "Well this'll do for now until you master these first lessons. Pick up your kunai and watch me closely!" Yūgao began showing him the different ways to attack using with the weapons while explaining its origins and different uses. He learned there were very specific attacks for different situations and how to choose the best weapon under the circumstances. By the end Naruto felt his arms become a little sore from the different poses they went through.

**Lesson 04- Genjutsu:**

The 4th lesson was Genjutsu. Yūgao began explaining and he hurriedly took down notes. "Genjutsu is a more deceptive and cunning branch of Jutsu. It is used to create an illusion to the victim usually being their worst fear or some form of torture. The most common way to break a Genjutsu is to cause yourself physical pain thus breaking the illusion and returning you to consciousness. However, spotting a Genjutsu isn't very hard if you look closely and pay attention to the environment around you." She demonstrated a few Genjutsu and Naruto found it to be rather cool that someone could use that in a real battle as a good intimidate strategy.

**Lesson 05- Taijutsu:**

"Sit down for this lesson Naruto-Kun. We're going to be doing Taijutsu, so for now you just watch as I take on Dragon and Falcon. Taijutsu is an entirely physical, non-chakra assisted branch of Jutsu. It's basically hand to hand fighting though using weaponry is allowed; we're trying to break you from that direction so it's physical combat." The three began to go through different Taijutsu attacks and Naruto was mesmerized with the fluidity of their moves. They stopped every so often to explain about different attacks and Naruto wrote everything down, watching their movements closely. A loud ring echoed through the halls and the sound of footsteps echoed outside of the door, bellowing voices making their way into the room. The loud grumbling of Naruto's stomach told him he was hungry and Yūgao laughed embarrassingly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Naruto-Kun I think that's enough for now. Go off to lunch and meet us back here for your next lesson." Naruto sweat dropped but smiled happily towards her and went off for his lunch.

**1:00 P.M.**

Hinata, Ino, and Sakura were sitting underneath an oak tree in the courtyard, waiting for Naruto to show up. They saw him walk out into the courtyard, his golden hair reflecting in the sunlight. He glanced frantically around until he spotted them underneath the shade of the tree.

"Hi Naruto-Kun!" They greeted happily moving over to let him in. Naruto sat between them gratefully, Sakura resuming her normal seating against his chest.

"Hi, I'm sorry that I'm late but my class kind of kept me." Naruto blushed embarrassingly when his stomach grumbled but they just giggled at the expense of their sweet and cute Naruto-Kun.

"Sorry, I guess I forgot to get some food for lunch today." Hinata smiled and handed him a bento box.

"That's alright Naruto-Kun. We've fixed you something." Said Ino.

"Yeah Naruto-Kun you won't ever have to worry about having lunch. We'll be taking turns between us on who fixes lunch. This week Ino's doing it, next week is Hinata, and the week after that it's me." Naruto smiled happily feeling more love enter his heart.

"Thank you so much. I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to have such beautiful angels like you in my life."

"Oh Naruto-Kun…." They blushed heavily from his praise, glancing occasionally from their own lunch to watch Naruto happily devour his meal. Naruto noticed Sasuke glance over every once and a while, quickly looking down when he stared into the eyes of Naruto. At the end they found themselves lying asleep against him, startling awake at the sound of the bell.

They were sad to see their time together cut short but Naruto promised that he would be there later to walk them home. When he made his way to the classroom he saw that it was empty. On the desk there was a folded piece of paper with his name written in neat script. It read:

_**Naruto-Kun,**_

_** Your next class is one only given to final, fourth year students. However Hokage-Sama was able to pull some strings to get you in regarding your….unique training. It's in room 400 on the Graduate Hall. Your training will begin later in the evening at 6 pm on Training Ground (10).**_

_** See you then,**_

_** Yūgao**_

He closed the door shut behind him and walked to the classroom labeled on the paper. Naruto found it with no trouble but stopped outside at the sounds of the loud and boisterous voices escaping from underneath the door. His fingers hesitantly reached for the door knob, shaking slightly.

'_What if they don't like me or if I don't fit in?'_ He thought, giving himself a silent pep talk.

Naruto sighed deeply, opening the door quickly. The classroom was the small but big enough to hold 50 or so students he guessed from a quick estimate. The Chūnin seated behind the desk appeared to have seen better years despite his young age. He looked up when he heard Naruto enter the room, smiling slightly at his striking resemblance to the Yondaime.

"You're Naruto, the transfer from the novice class?" Naruto nodded and handed the Chūnin his revised schedule.

"Well then Naruto-Kun; choose a seat anywhere you like."

The rows were filled with older students who were watching him with disdain and scrutiny. There was a small row in the far back that looked feeble with cracks splayed over the desk. Naruto slowly walked to the back, feeling the hard stares of the older students against his back. He sat in the desk and was surprised to find it was stronger than it looked. The Instructor seemed a mile away but Naruto knew better than to complain. However, the Chūnin's voice was loud and gravely so it carried well even to the back of the room. It took a while for Naruto to notice that everyone around him was taking notes of the lesson and quickly began scribbling his own.

"Konohagakure was founded by the Senju, Uchiha, and other numerous clans before the Great Shinobi Wars. Does anyone know who our first Hokage is?"

The teacher looked around the room. Seeing no hands, raised he sighed heavily, rubbing his temples.

"You cannot be serious? You all are in your final year of the Academy, preparing to graduate and become Shinobi of Konohagakure. Yet not a single one of you knows who our 1st Hokage was? I fear for this generation, thinking that being a Shinobi is just about fighting and nothing about knowledge." The Chūnin eyes followed and locked onto Naruto and he smiled slightly.

"Naruto-San, do you know who the 1st Hokage was?"

Everyone turned to look at Naruto, who wished that he was invisible.

'_Is this teacher trying to get me killed?'_

"Umm...wasn't Hashirama Senju the 1st Hokage?"

The instructor smiled brightly. "Yes he was Naruto-San. Well done! I see why they chose to promote you to the advanced class. Continuing on Hashirama Senju was elected 1st Hokage by the people for his **Wood Release**, which built most of Konoha's buildings. As you can see nearly all of the buildings here today are wooden and made by Senju-Sama. This was in a time before the Great Shinobi Wars where peace and..." He continued, writing on the chalkboard.

When the bell rang Naruto was the last one to leave, passing by all the older students on his way out. The girls were waiting for him and he apologized for running late. They didn't seem to mind at all but offered him sympathetic smiles.

"It's fine Naruto-Kun. Let's just go home." Said Ino. They arrived at her house first, waving until she disappeared behind the door. Sakura was dropped off at her home, sending them a small flick of the hand, locking the gate behind her. Hinata was the last leave, giving Naruto a brief hug before hurrying inside. For the first time since they met, Naruto had no one to talk to. It seemed strange to be by himself with so much of the day left ahead of him. It became rather normal to have the girls around him for the most part of the day.

'Well I am doing this to get stronger for them. I have to get used to it and push through because if I don't there will be no one to protect them.'

With that Naruto's resolve was steeled as he walked to the mansion, more determined than ever to make this work. After a while, Naruto walked out dressed in a sleeveless shirt and combat shorts. He figured they would be doing a lot of training so he dressed in light, breathable material. There was still about forty minutes left before he was supposed to be at Training Ground 10 but Naruto had no idea where it was. He kept walking with his head down, receiving the shock of his life when he ran into somebody. He had ran into a young Kurenai Yūhi, on her way to the Hyūga compound.

"Slow down kid! What's got you in such a rush?" Naruto just stared at her, his eyes wide in amazement. He had never seen her before and even at his young age he knew that she was pretty.

'_But not as pretty as my girls though._' He thought, snapping out of his trance.

"S-S-Sorry." He stumbled, as he looked coyly at the ground. "I was on my way t-to the, uh, to the-"

"To what?" Interjected Kurenai.

'Should I tell her? I know that no one's supposed to know but I have no idea where Training Ground 10 is. Wait she's a Shinobi too so maybe she knows where it is!'

Naruto spoke up, "I-I was on my w-way to Training Ground 10."

Kurenai looked at him suspiciously, "Training Ground 10? Well, you're going the wrong way. It's further out near the edge of the city, not right through Downtown."

"Um, well thank you." Naruto said before sprinting off in the direction she said. Kurenai watched him for a minute until she found herself at the Hyūga Estate, being escorted inside by two Hyūga clansmen. They led her to Hiashi in the courtyard, where he was playing a game of Shoji with his nephew. Hinata was sitting aloof by the water, gazing quietly at her reflection. When the servants alerted Hiashi of her presence, he stood and dusted off his robes.

"Welcome Kurenai-San. I take your journey here was alright?" He said, shaking her hand. "Please have a seat and make yourself comfortable. Would you like some tea?" Kurenai looked around, surprised at the Hyūga leader's hospitality. "Yes, thank you Hyūga-Sama."

"Please call me Hiashi."

"Ok, then Hiashi-Sama. The journey here was fine, I just ran into someone on the way. Perhaps you know him?"

"Really, what did he look like?"

"Kind of short, blond hair, blue eyes, spiky hair." Hinata let out a small gasp, and then blushed when she noticed everyone was looking at her. She turned away and went back to staring at her refection, her mind running a million miles an hour. Hiashi glanced at his eldest daughter before motioning to Kurenai. She followed him to his office where tea was waiting for them and sat in the offered chair, sipping her drink as he softly closed the door.

"Now Kurenai-San, the boy you speak of is young Uzumaki Naruto. Or rather young Namikaze Naruto." Hiashi spoke quietly. Kurenai heard herself let out a small sound of surprise as she covered her mouth.

"That was the young Kyūbi container?" She whispered as her eyes widened. Hiashi nodded his head, taking a sip of his tea before placing it back on the saucer. "But...how? He doesn't look evil or hateful like the villagers describe him. I mean, the kid doesn't look like he has an evil bone in his body."

"It is true Kurenai-San. Naruto-Kun is not evil and is not hateful or spiteful as the villagers have led us to believe. He is truly a very kind and well-mannered boy despite his…upbringing. I would say that that young boy has seen more violence and hatred towards than any Shinobi have ever experienced in the home of our worst enemy." Kurenai looked puzzled as she leaned in to whisper, "But what about the about the fight he got into yesterday or the rumors that he's, he's-"

"He likes my daughter?" Hiashi laughed and Kurenai blushed, nodding her head. "Well yes those two rumors are all true. He did get into several fights yesterday and he does, in a pre-juvenile way, like my eldest daughter. And if the rest of the rumor mentions him liking two other girls from the Yamanaka and Haruno clan, then it is true. Now, I know you may be surprised." He added at Kurenai's unbelieving look. "But we are quite alright with it. Naruto-Kun is an honest boy and we know that he truly cares for them and would never let them be harmed. He genuinely cares about their comfort and well-being and would never cause an uneasy situation for them. They are just children Kurenai-San and I don't know what rumors that they have been spreading but there is no **adult** like interaction between he and the girls **at all**. These villagers with their foolish gossip would say anything." He ended crossing his arms and scowling. Kurenai placed down her empty tea cup.

"Well thank you, Hiashi-Sama. You have given much information today."

"It is fine Kurenai-San. Now back to the matter at hand. I would like you to train my daughter, Hinata. I feel that my training is not very effective for her to learn at this time. Sarutobi-Sama recommended you because you have proven to be a great young Kunoichi with good skills. When she is of the proper age I will try again but right now I don't want her to get behind on her conditioning."

"Thank you very much Hiashi-Sama. Can I talk to Hinata? So I can get an idea of which style best suits her." Hiashi stood, motioning Kurenai to stand as well. "Of course. If you'll just follow me, I think she will still be out in the courtyard. Ahh there she is? Hinata come here for a moment." Hinata walked to her father, keeping her eyes bowed to the floor.

"Hinata, this is Kurenai Yūhi. She will be taking over for your training until you graduate from the Academy." Kurenai examined the girl, taking in her soft posture and shyness. She extended her hand towards the small girl.

"Hello Hinata-San. It's a pleasure to meet you." Hinata shyly took her hand, blushing as she spoke. "Good evening, Yūhi-Sama. I-It is very nice to meet you as well."

"Please Hinata-Chan, call me Kurenai."

"Excellent." Hiashi said, clasping his hands together. "I will just leave you two alone to get familiar with each other while I go to a clan meeting. Kurenai-San, if you leave before I am out of my meeting please send one of the servants to notify me."

Kurenai nodded. "Of course Hiashi-Sama. I will be sure to do that." She then turned to Hinata. "Hinata-Chan, are you ready?"

"Hai, Kurenai-Sama." Kurenai and Hinata began to take a walk around the Hyūga Estate, with Hinata being unaware that somewhere else in the village her Naruto was also going through his own training.

**6:00 P.M.**

"Good. You made it on time Naruto-Kun. Now we can begin your training." Said Yūgao. They were in the middle of Training Ground 10, surrounded by splintered and scratched and shattered posts. It was only after looking around that Naruto noticed Dragon and Falcon weren't there.

"Where are Dragon & Falcon? Yūgao-Sama?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"They're not needed for this part of your training so I sent them on an errand. They'll be back by the time we finish our warm-up. Come let's get going."

Naruto followed without complaint as Yūgao set out on a light jog. They ran a lap around the village and Yūgao seemed impressed that Naruto was only breathing moderately fast. For any adult or child with no previous physical training whatsoever, they wouldn't have half the stamina of Naruto and probably would have fainted by the time he broke a sweat.

'_Hmm, it must be the Kyūbi too.' Yūgao thought, observing as Naruto stood straight up with his hand over his hips as he controlled his breathing. 'Of course his own natural stamina right now is equal to a Chūnin but combined with the Kyūbi's chakra… Wow, the level could be equal to that of a high Jōnin or low Hokage. If he could just seriously develop his chakra control and regulation throughout his body, it may be even higher than that!_'

"Are you alright Naruto-Kun?" She asked.

He nodded, "Hai Yūgao-Sama! I'm fine."

"OK then. Take a five minute break and then we'll start back up. Remember when you're out of breath, stand straight and place your hands above your head. It'll expand your lungs and let you take in more air." Her arm remained slung around his shoulders while he followed her advice and handing him a small leather pouch like object; which turned out to have water in it. There was a soft breeze of wind, Dragon and Falcon emerging from a pillar of leaves. They were surprised to see their squad leader letting Naruto drink directly from her personal water canteen. During their own ANBU training she was never let them use any of her stuff and even now it was a scarcity.

'_This Naruto kid must be something special to Neko-Sama._' Dragon thought bitterly.

'_That kid has some serious creed with the ladies. Ha! Even Dragon isn't THAT close to Neko-Sama. I bet he's burning with jealousy right now! Oh man this is going to be sweet.'_ Falcon was laughing quietly at the thought of his best friend being jealous of a nine year old. It was common knowledge that Dragon had a huge crush on Yūgao. He thought she was oblivious but Falcon knew that she was well aware of his intentions. Falcon also knew that's why she started dating Gekko Hayate, to discourage his friend but the idiot was too blinded by "love" to realize it. He shook his head at the stupidity of his friend and decided to announce their presence in case Dragon did something dumb.

"Neko-Sama, we're back! We've got the, uh, package you told us to get." Yūgao looked up as they walked over, handing her a small package. Naruto was now splayed out on the ground, absorbing the coolness of the grass into his skin. His shirt was moistened and his body was covered from head to toe in sweat. His muscles felt sore which was to be expected and he let out a sigh when he felt them stretch back into place.

"Thank you Falcon, Dragon. Naruto-Kun, come here. I want to show you something." Naruto quickly got to his feet, using the back of his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. Yūgao carefully unwrapped the package and a small piece of metal dropped out. It was a necklace of chain links with a metal insignia engraved with black stone. The insignia was the same one he saw in that room: a thin wisp of flame.

"This is the symbol of the Konohagakure ANBU. This necklace," Yūgao said, holding it up in front of Naruto's eyes. "Is your reward after your first two years of training. The third year you will officially become an ANBU and be allowed to tattoo it onto yourself. But-" She stopped, reaching behind her head and fastening the necklace around her neck. "Until you pass your training I will be personally keeping this necklace. At this point you are not developed or strong enough to earn it." Dragon and Falcon gulped at how the necklace nestled itself nicely between the valley of her breasts. Naruto was lost in his own world and thinking about the challenge that Yūgao just presented to him.

'_I have to get that necklace to prove that I am strong. It is the only way I can ever truly protect my precious people._'

Suddenly his body didn't feel so achy and his muscles sore.

"Yūgao-Sama, I'm ready to start again." He said stretching out his back.

"If you say so Naruto-Kun. Lie down on the ground and spread you arms out." He did as he said, ignoring the slight tensing of his elbows. "Good, now give me fifty pushups and don't stop or else we'll have to start over again." Naruto took a breath before lowering his body just skimming the grass and brought himself back up, exhaling as he did so. He tried it again with the second time being easier and by the third one he felt very comfortable. When he got to forty-seven his elbows were starting to shake but he sucked it up and pushed through the last three. Naruto's arms finally gave out and he dropped to the ground before turning around on to his back. Once again, Yūgao was impressed and watched as Falcon helped him up, patting him on the head.

"Not bad Naruto-Kun, now give me one hundred sit-ups and I'll start teaching you some Ninjutsu."

That seemed to spark Naruto's interest as he started on his sit-ups wincing every once in a while when he would come up too fast. He did pretty well on them, only faltering because he forgot to control his breathing. He slowly got to his feet as Yūgao motioned for him to follow her. They stopped in front of thick oak tree with the bark sliced and torn through by the markings of a knife.

"This is your first lesson in Ninjutsu. You'll be learning about chakra control and the importance it has for any type of Jutsu. The tree-climbing technique is the one of the simplest ways to master chakra control. That's how I first learned it when I graduated from the academy and I still do it from time to time to freshen up my memory." Yūgao walked up to the tree and placed her foot against the bark. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before lifting up her other foot.

Naruto was in awe because Yūgao was here in front of him climbing a tree using just her feet. She made it all the way to the top of the tree which was about 140 feet. "Wow!" Naruto whispered rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Yūgao turned around from her spot on the tree and crossed her arms before speaking.

"Tree climbing, though simple in theory, really isn't that easy. It takes the utmost concentration to tree climb using your chakra which is why it's so good for teaching chakra control. You have to really focus on how much chakra you are using: too little and it'll be like sliding on butter and your feet won't stick. Too much and it's like walking barefoot on top of fire, and you'll get one or two steps and be repelled of from the bark." Yūgao jumped down from off the tree landing gracefully onto her feet.

"But you won't be doing that today Naruto-Kun. Instead you will be-" She stopped to watch as a leaf came floating down in front of her. She reached out and grabbed it and held the leaf between her middle and pointer finger. She held her hand out to Naruto, who took it unsurely wondering what Yūgao wanted him to do with a leaf. "You will be practicing you chakra control on this leaf." She said and picked another leaf up from the ground. "Clear your head and focus on the leaf. Now look closely at the stem and imagine it being cut clean in two." She demonstrated, her leaf gaining a slight glow through the middle. "Now focus your chakra into that image, as though it were wind slicing directly down the middle of the leaf. Concentrate and don't lose focus."

Much to his amazement, Yūgao's leaf was cut directly in half and she showed them how they were cleanly split. "Alright Naruto-Kun. Now I want you to try, and remember what I just said: Focus!" Naruto did exactly as he said and stared hard at the leaf. It was about a minute until he realized nothing was happening. He felt stupid and huffed at his failure scowling at the leaf. Naruto tried again doing everything she told him to but to no avail. So he tried again, and again, and again but nothing was happening.

'_Oh great! How can ever become a Shinobi and protect my Hinata-Chan, Ino-Chan, and Sakura-Chan if I can't even cut a leaf? Argh, this is so frustrating!_'

Yūgao sensed his anger and placed a hand on his shoulder making him look at her. "Naruto-Kun calm down. The last thing you need to be while doing this exercise is angry. Your mind must be absolutely calm in order to access the chakra and control it. Now, try taking a deep breath and clearing your mind." Naruto inhaled slowly and shook his head to clear his mind. "Good job Naruto-Kun. Here's what I want you to do: I want you to breathe in and breathe out slowly. Just like that. OK? Do you feel that kind of energy or adrenaline flowing through your body? I want you tap into it and absorb it."

Naruto felt it pulsing through him and slowly absorbed it. He opened his eyes in wonder at the feelings seeping through him. There was a strange warmth spreading through him, starting at his stomach and trickling to his fingertips and his toes. It was a feeling like no other and Naruto felt as if he could do anything: run, jump, fly, swim, whatever! He could climb the highest mountain or scale the lowest valley, nothing could ever stop him. He smiled at Yūgao who smirked back and told him to hold up his leaf.

"Ok, Naruto-Kun. I see that you've tapped into your chakra-"

"Is that what this feeling, this energy is?"

She smiled. "Yes. That feeling is the chakra spreading through you and that energy you felt before in your stomach is your chakra reserve. Think about it, your stomach is what breaks down food to give you energy right? Well it's only fitting that since it already is the energy source for your body that it is the energy source for your chakra too. Of course there are chakra points located all over your body, remember? When I had you taking notes earlier? I told you that there are chakra points located in all the major muscles, organs and bone joints in your body. Well there are also smaller reserves located in places like your hair, fingertips and capillaries. They don't have as much chakra as the bigger points but there are more of them." She smiled at the fascinated expression on Naruto's face before continuing. "Focus on the leaf again and concentrate." Naruto did as she said, looking hard at the leaf as he felt a slight spike in his chakra flow.

"Did you feel that spark?" He nodded. "It's your chakra telling you it's ready to be used, that it knows what you want. Now take that little spark of chakra and concentrate it down the middle of the leaf." Naruto did and let out a smile when his leaf split into two even halves. "Great job Naruto-Kun! How did that feel? Good? Are you tired?" Naruto nodded happily, feeling more than a little fatigue after that chakra high. But he never felt more accomplished in his life.

'_I did it! Now I know I can become strong and protect my precious people!_' Naruto thought, letting out a foxy grin. Yūgao wrapped an arm around him, giving him a pat on the back.

"It's normal to feel tired after accessing your chakra for the first time. After that euphoria of gaining it the first time, your body doesn't rely on its natural energy and instead on your chakra. Once you close it off again you feel tired because your body has to readjust to your stomach for energy. The more you do it the less tired you begin to feel until your body is completely balanced. You will be able to access your chakra while your body continues to use its own energy while you perform Jutsu, so when you close it again your body won't have to readjust because it'll still be using your stomach for energy. That's it for today Naruto-Kun. I'll see you tomorrow in class and don't forget to bring your weapons for training tomorrow! Same time same place."

"Hai Yūgao-Sama! See you tomorrow!" Naruto said, jogging his way back home.

**9:51 P.M.**

Naruto yawned as he dressed into his pajamas. Today went better than he could've expected, considering all the drama from the day before. He yawned again and checked his alarm before turning off his bedside lamp, giving in to a sleep after a suspenseful, action-packed, and accomplishing day.


	11. The Will Of Fire Burns Bright

**Forbidden Fruits**

**Chapter Eleven**

**The Will of Fire Burns Bright**

**(Friday, October 23****rd****~)**

**3:41 P.M.**

The ANBU training was strenuous and time consuming ending only well in the early morning. After every session Naruto's body felt sore and it was a struggle just to make it home before he dropped from exhaustion. With his late training and constant tiredness, he hardly had any more time for his girls and they all were feeling the effects of it. He was feeling less happy and a little irritable, hardly the bright ray of sunshine he was before. Ino was beginning to get pout more and was less energetic when she wasn't around her Naruto-Kun. Sakura was less focused and started to day dream more during class, losing her normal bright enthusiasm.

It seemed Hinata was taking it worse of all, retreating back into her former shell and never talking unless directly spoken to. The short term effects of his decision to become an ANBU were having a more overwhelming result then he first thought but preserved through it anyway, knowing it would benefit him in the future. However, Naruto felt like he needed to do something to re-express his interest and devotion. He heard that Sasuke had been trying to sway them with his "holier than thou art's loser" routine; his ego having taken a huge lift from Naruto's disappearance in class. He was still, however, peeved that Naruto was grades ahead of him and found it to be unfair to him as an Uchiha, being outclassed by a nobody dobe. They didn't give in and remained faithful to Naruto though, instead just choosing to ignore his supreme ego.

To show his appreciation Naruto set aside some time for today to take them out to on a picnic then to go show them some of his favorite spots in the village. Periko-Chan was good with making suggestions and helped him plan out the whole thing. Even though he insisted that what they were wearing was fine, the girls wanted to dress up a little more comfortably before going out on their first "official date"; after all they couldn't wear their academy clothes on the first date with their Naruto-Kun. He blushed but conceded, waiting patiently for almost 20 minutes for them to get fixed, finally making their way to the Hokage Monument.

Naruto placed the picnic mat on the ground and spread it out so they would have a terrific view of the village below them. "It was really nice of you to make this for us Naruto-Kun but you didn't have to do that." Said Hinata shyly.

"Yeah it is nice Naruto-Kun but you didn't have to do this. We would've understood." Said Sakura.

"With you being in advanced classes they probably give you more work than us. I'm sure it must be exhausting." Said Ino.

He shook his head and gestured for them to sit; they sat down and Naruto followed suit. He sat across from them, holding out his hand. They were covered with the nimble soft hands of them and he rubbed the fingers with his thumb stroking the smooth skin against his palm.

"Of course I had too. We hardly have any time together and my classes may be tiring but that's no excuse to ignore my three most important girls in my life. I'm sorry I let it go on this long but from now on I'm going to prove to you just how much you mean to me." Naruto declared firmly, meaning every word.

"Naruto-Kun….."

They were touched by his resolve and brightened considerably, feeling their hearts swell with love and affection. He pulled four containers of bento, handing one to each girl and keeping one for himself.

"Itakdamisu!" They all said, lifting their chopsticks in the air.

Naruto passed the time by telling them about some of the crazy stuff he used to do, like painting the faces of the Hokage Monument red. The girls laughed at his silliness and just like that things were normal again. He knew they wouldn't have enough time to go to their favorite place before his training but instead took his time to walk them home. Picking some flowers he found growing from in the crisp, green grass, Naruto handed each of them their own small bouquet. They found his gesture to be sweet and gave him a small kiss, blushing brightly but smiling all the same. He dropped Ino off first walking her to the door while Sakura and Hinata stood aside talking to each other and respecting the two's privacy.

"I had fun today Naruto-Kun. It was sweet of you to that and now I think it'll make the fact that we won't see you that often worth it." Ino said quietly moving in a little closer. Naruto cleared his throat and replied, "Yeah, that's ok Ino-Chan. Anything to make my girls happy."

They moved closer to each other until Ino wrapped her arms around his neck; he responded by placing his hands firmly on her back leaning almost nose to nose with each other. Their lips met briefly but it was enough to make them never want to lose the feeling; they still parted breathing feeling a little light headed but smiling happily. Ino unlocked the door and waved to them a good night, shutting the door quietly behind her.

The next stop was Sakura's house where she and Hinata said goodbye before Naruto walked her up the doorstep. She reached out her hand and he quickly took it between his, rolling their fingers together.

"Goodnight Naruto-Kun." Sakura whispered looking at their intertwined fingers.

"Goodnight, Sakura-Chan." He whispered just as quietly, giving her a slight kiss on the lips. The butterflies in his chest flopped but dissipated as soon as the kiss was broken, feeling his lips tingle from the cool air. Naruto waited until Sakura was in the house before he walked towards Hinata, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her, seeing the cold shivers down her body. She smiled gratefully but blushed slightly when felt him wrap an arm around her waist. Hinata leaned her head against his shoulder neither saying anything as they walked quietly towards her house. Somewhere along the journey their hands found each other and remaining locked together. The guards at the gate of the Hyūga mansion nodded briefly at the happy couple letting them pass through.

They stopped in front of the door and Naruto pulled her to him, holding her closely. Hinata blushed but happily placed her nose in the crook of his shoulder, smiling at the warmth he emanated. Though he was only clad in his thin, muscle shirt Naruto didn't even wince when a cool breeze blew past them, hugging his hands innocently along Hinata's shoulders when he felt her cling into his warmth. Hinata blushed but wrapped her arms around his neck standing on her tippy toes to kiss him. His hands held her waist to him tightly nearly lifting her off the ground. The butterflies were practically burning through him but Naruto didn't pull away, ignoring the conscious thought to end the embrace. When another cool breeze blew past them he felt Hinata shiver more violently and broke the kiss, gently pecking her on the forehead. She was a little dazed but smiled cheerily, going into the manor.

He smiled with glee but continued to his mansion across the street waving at the gate guards as they let him out. He was barely able to get into the house before his senses alerted him that someone was already here. Yūgao was sitting on his couch smiling happily while Dragon and Falcon were in the kitchen, a pile of food in front of them.

"Yūgao-Sensei what's wrong? I thought I was supposed to meet you at the training grounds?" Naruto asked, glancing warily at the sheepish "thieves" that were eating his food. Well more so Falcon, because Dragon sent a brief glare at Naruto with his expression one of arrogance. It seemed Dragon still harbored his ridiculous jealousy of Naruto's closeness to Yūgao, even though it was purely friend-to-friend relationship.

"No Naruto-Kun. You see we've had a change of plans. The Hokage recommended that your training be carried out on the Namikaze Grounds. Being that it was more secluded and might be a little more convenient for you; His words not mine. I agreed simply because he was the Hokage and I wasn't foolish enough to go against a simple command. Besides, I noticed the hot spring out back and decided that maybe it would have some benefit to me as well."

"THERE'S A HOT SPRING OUT BACK?" Falcon rushed out of the house intent on finding the hot spring. Yūgao shook her head and they followed the ANBU through the backdoor, who left a trail of empty snack bags in their wake. When Yūgao caught up to him she smacked Falcon on the back of the head.

"You idiot! What have I told you about bothering stuff that's not yours? Seriously you're like children! Now go apologize to Naruto-Kun for eating his food and clean up everything you messed up. When I get back that kitchen had better be spotless and fully stocked, even if you didn't eat it all. Understood?" Yūgao was livid and they knew better than to push her patience.

"H-Hai Neko-Sama! Gomen Naruto-San!" Falcon said before he rushed off followed by a disgruntled Dragon, picking up the empty bags of foil lying on the grass. Yūgao turned to him and pulled him to her, shushining them to the front gates.

"Come on Naruto-Kun! It's just you, me, and 5 laps around Konoha." Said Yūgao, a mischievous gleam twinkling in her eyes. Naruto knew better than to complain and conceded jogging along behind her. At the end of his 5th lap Naruto was tired and felt as though his lungs were bleeding inside out from the hard activity.

"Breathe through your nose Naruto-Kun. Take slow breaths and stand straight up; place your hands on your head. It will allow your lungs to expand. There you go breathe, Naruto-Kun. Breathe." Yūgao said, rubbing his back comfortingly. To be honest she felt guilty for putting the poor kid through this torture, remembering her first time at ANBU training. Yūgao knew that she was being harder on Naruto during his training than she was with Falcon and Dragon years ago. Chakra flowed to her hand and entered Naruto's body, cooling him down and relieving the strain of his lungs.

"Th-Thank you! Yūgao-Sensei!" Naruto said in happiness, taking a shaky breath. She smiled whispering quietly, "You're welcome Naruto-Kun. You're more than welcome." Yūgao followed behind Naruto as he led the way back to his mansion.

_**(~Later~)**_

_**8:50 P.M.**_

"That's enough Naruto-Kun. Come over here and try to climb this tree but focus the chakra in your feet like I told. Don't lose your concentration!" Naruto was tired and covered in sweat from the more physical training that he just had to endure for the last four hours. The results of his training were intense with muscles developing in places Naruto never knew he had.

Looking at the giant tree in front of him Naruto swallowed audibly stretching his arms. He was apprehensive at first but began focusing his chakra walking slowly along the stalk of the tree. He felt a small animal walk across him and lost his concentration, using the Kunai to mark his previous spot. His body was falling quickly but wind resistance was too great for him to move and he braced himself for a painful impact. What he didn't expect was for a pair of soft arms and two firm objects to be pressed against his back. Naruto looked behind him and saw that it was Yūgao-Sensei holding him up and saving him from a painful fall.

"Do it again Naruto-Kun. This time don't lose your focus!" Yūgao said quietly, gritting her teeth in frustration.

"Hai Yūgao-Sensei!" He walked up at an even pace, focusing completely on the tree. Before he knew it he was at the top and wanted jump and excitement but remembered not to lose his focus and instead walked slowly back down the tree. What he did not expect was for a smiling Yūgao to be looking at him with happiness and a little pride.

"Good job Naruto-Kun. I didn't expect you to do it so quickly. Now try it backwards." It took him a little longer but Naruto caught on quickly. Yūgao had him move in different directions on the tree, the final exercise was dodging kunai she threw at him while staying planted on the tree. He lasted a reasonable amount of time until he lost concentration. Naruto thought that Yūgao would be disappointed but in fact she seemed rather happy with his progress.

"Naruto-Kun, grab those wooden swords off of the ground and battle me." Naruto did what Yūgao said and engaged in a fight with her, pausing when she stopped and corrected his stance. The sword felt like lead in his arms and his movements were primitive and slow, frustrating him to no end.

"Don't worry Naruto-Kun. When you get more experience and your body gets tuned in with the sword your movements will be quicker and more fluid." Her tone was so gentle and soothing that Naruto forgot his frustrations and immediately brightened up.

"Hai Yūgao-Sensei!" Their match resumed and Yūgao noticed that Naruto was trying harder and thinking his movements through. With the addition of his movements becoming more sure and confident, Yūgao blocked his swings with ease knocking the sword out of his hands a couple of times but Naruto was quick to recover, despite the weakening of his arms.

'_Impressive.' _Yūgao thought, watching him aim a well-placed blow to her feet which she blocked with a quick flick of the wrist. _'Well at least he's using his head. Smart move to aim at my legs and disrupt my center of gravity. I think it might be time to move on.'_

"Alright Naruto-Kun. Bring it inside so we can get started on your next lesson." They walked into the house to see Dragon & Falcon working hard and scrubbing the floor frantically.

"Hurry up Dragon before Neko-Sama gets here! Can't you scrub any faster?"

"Shut up Falcon! I can't scrub any faster!"

"Well if Neko-Sama is pissed at us because the place isn't clean…."

"Ahem…" Dragon and Falcon quickly stood to their feet cleaning brushes and spray in each hand. Naruto felt a snicker work its way into his throat, covering it with a cough. Yūgao felt a small smile spread over her cheeks but cleared her throat.

"Well I see that you've cleaned the place up like I asked. However I did notice that you missed a spot on the countertop next to the microwave." They looked at the spot she was indicating and wondered with great amazement how she noticed it from over 20 yards away. Yūgao cleared her throat again and they immediately went to work scrubbing at the stain but to no avail; no matter how much they scrubbed and sprayed it wouldn't come off.

"Yūgao-Sensei! Can I do Fūinjutsu now? Please?" Naruto begged his lower lip trembling. Her face broke in a smile and shaking her head at his antics.

"I would let you Naruto-Kun but I didn't bring anything to teach you Fūinjutsu. I don't even have any paper or ink or-"

"Wait a second Yūgao-Sensei! There's a library upstairs. It has paper and books and pens and all sorts of stuff. Come on, Yūgao-Sensei!" Naruto led her up two flights of stairs only to see her gasping in awe at the magnitude of the library.

"Come on, Yūgao-Sensei. There's a table right here." Yūgao followed Naruto to the table, smirking at his eager attitude.

"Alright Naruto-Kun. This is one of the most basic seals." Her hand drew a simple curl on the piece of paper. "The simplest way to use a seal is just to identify a title. Whether something as plainly obvious like labeling a jar or purposely mislabeling something to confuse an enemy. Fūinjutsu is a very precise art that requires a steady hand and sharp eyes to do correctly. If a seal is messed up even the slightest it could have devastating effects to the user. Even a simple Chakra Restriction seal can be fatal if it is not drawn perfectly."

Her fingers tapped lightly against the symbol she just drew.

"You try to draw this and try to come as close to my drawing as you can."

It seemed simple enough but Naruto found out it was harder than it looked. His curl came out looking more like a crooked 'j' but Yūgao was encouraging and after a few more attempts it was identical to hers. She drew more seals for him to copy and they spent a couple of hours until he drew identical doppelgangers to her own. It was like calligraphy in a way, simple to understand, beautiful to look at, but truly difficult to master.

"OK Naruto-Kun, I think that's enough for now."

He was glad too because his fingers were just about to fall off. Yūgao took the slips of paper they had drew on and held them between her fingers. The papers vanished in a wisp of flame leaving behind no ash or smoke. They went downstairs to find Falcon and Dragon collapsed in the kitchen, with cleaning agents and a scrub brush in each hand. It was quite a sight to see two masked ANBU in such a domesticated way.

"Dragon, Falcon let's go! Naruto-Kun we'll meet here again next week. I'm not going to be able to try out the hot spring today but maybe I will next time. Don't forget to practice the exercises and seals I told you about. Good night."

"Good night Yūgao-Sensei. Dragon, Falcon."

"Later little dude." Falcon said, shaking his head at Dragon who had followed behind Yūgao like a lost puppy. Naruto closed the door behind them and activated the security seals to protect the estate. He took a shower and took to climbing into his bed, where he heard a few of his joints snap back into their place. A slight chill entered the room and he rubbed his arms against the cold. He noticed some muscle and definition starting to show where previously they were thin and flat.

'_I'm changing more than I realized._' Naruto thought sleepily.

**(Two Months Later)**

**7:09 A.M.**

At this time in the village everything was peaceful and routine, after the signing of a peace treaty with Kumogakure. It would bring an end to the hostility between the nations and with the final signing happening later tomorrow, Konohagakure was basking in this accomplishment, completely unaware that it would all be shot to hell. From the perch of a tree sat a man, watching guards patrol the village's entrance. He was very well hidden with a **Disillusion Jutsu**, his entire being reflecting that of the tree behind him.

'_These are Konohagakure ninja? Pathetic! Our lowliest Kumogakure Genin could easily overpower these fools! But no matter, I'm not here to compare this incompetent village to my own outstanding village of Kumo. I will enter Konoha with the appearance of attending to sign the treaty but I will scout the village to find my target: the young Hyūga heiress. Then Kumo will have _the** Byakugan **_Kekkei Genkai and we will breed our own race of super Shinobi with the Kekkei Genkai of every ninja country._' The Kumo ninja thought with malicious glee, jumping down from his perch.

"Kai." He said and the Genjutsu cloaking him was ended. As he approached the gates, the guards took one look at him and began to scramble around in a hurry.

'_Ha, these ninja! Running around like chickens with their head cut off to meet the destroyer of their village.'_

"Good-, Good Morning, Head Ninja-Sama! Welcome to Konoha! I hope your journey here was well."

"Oh it was fine, quite fine actually."

"Well that's good to hear, umm, yes. Well, Hokage-Sama is waiting for you in his office and has extended his home as a place for you to stay."

The guard didn't see the Kumo Head Ninja's eyes widen in surprise and slight fear.

'_If I stay at the Hokage's house I will never be able to execute my plan. I would be right under the old fool's nose and though I doubt he could stop me, he would know what happened after I disappeared and then report the girl as missing._'

"No, that won't be necessary. I will be just fine staying in a hotel until tomorrow, thank you." The Head Ninja responded curtly.

The guard fumbled with a reply, "Well, in that case, come in and enjoy your stay sir. I will tell the Hokage of your arrangements in the meantime. Have a good day."

"Yes, you as well thank you." The ninja nodded and to his surprise, being greeted by a great crowd of people.

"Head Ninja you have arrived!" said a portly woman.

"Yes Ma'am. Indeed I have."

"You sir are wonderful. Bringing peace between our nations." Added her husband.

"Thank you. Thank you sir."

A young girl shouted out, "Kami bless the Head Ninja of Kumo."

"Kami bless the Head Ninja of Kumo." The crowd repeated, shouting praises to the foreign ninja.

"Thank you all, you're too kind." He said, putting on a fake smile. "Thank you, Thank you."

'_The fools! Praising me when they should fear for their lives. I am rather disappointed. I thought they would be more wary and alert to a foreign Shinobi than this_.' He thought, outwardly smiling and waving at the receptive visitors.

Once he made his way into a hotel, the Head Ninja checked out a room and the receptionist told him it would be put on the Hokage's tab. immediately after entering his room, the ninja glanced around the room and peeked outside the door before unsealing a scroll. A small tinted glass bottle, a rag, and a knife appeared out among other things. He picked up the small bottle and read the label:

CHLOROFORM

"Excellent." He said evilly. "Say goodbye Konoha. Once I get the Byakugan, I will make sure that your village is eradicated. Like an insect underneath my boot."

**(Hyūga Estate)**

Hinata was breathing heavily, wiping the slight trickle of blood that ran from her broken lip. From the corner of her eye, she could see Hiashi and Kurenai whispering urgently. Even though she couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, the obvious disappointment in their voices told her all she needed to know. Her little sister Hanabi smirked at her, completely uncaring about her wound. Hinata knew that Hanabi thought she was weak and wanted to be in her place so badly; as the heir to the Hyūga clan. While she knew that her skills had improved greatly under Kurenai's tutelage, it still wasn't enough. Training with her instructor was one thing but when it came to fighting against Hanabi she just could not keep up. The adults whispering ceased and she heard Kurenai say, "Hinata, again." There was a hint of doubt in her tone and confusion, as though she didn't understand why she was struggling against her sister so much.

Hinata stood back on her feet and got into her stance. Her sister did the same, beckoning her with a taunting wave. They stood still for a moment and waited for the other to attack first. Hinata was first to break out of her stance and attack her sister, landing a kick to her thigh. It took Hanabi by surprise even their father and Kurenai were amazed Hinata took a more aggressive position and went first. More and more blows were thrown between the two until they were both to the brink of exhaustion. They battled on still and Hinata was thoroughly impressing her father until…

"KYA!" Shouted Hanabi, landing a hard kick to Hinata stomach just as she leapt into the air. Hinata gasped harshly and hit the ground hard, immediately clenching her stomach. Hanabi looked pretty smug, smirking when her father shook his head in disappointment. "Hinata-Chan…" The Hyūga head whispered before disappearing through the door. Neji, who had just entered the room, gave a smile satisfaction of seeing the Hyūga heiress panting on the ground in agony.

'_Serves her right. The "Oh So Great Hinata-Sama". Hmph, she's just a weakling and if she's to become the clan head, we will crumble from the inside out. It's because of her that I will be brandished with this accursed seal for the rest of my life and never able to fully grow into my potential!_'

Neji scowled, shaking his head at the pathetic sight in front of him then turned and followed after Hiashi. Only Hanabi, Hinata, and Kurenai were left in the room and the tension was thick.

"Hinata are you all right? What happened out there?" Kurenai asked in concern for her pupil.

"Kurenai-Sama, I-I….I…" Hinata choked out, struggling to force air to her lungs. A servant popped into the room.

"Kurenai-Sama, Hiashi-Sama wishes to see you." Kurenai looked at Hinata for a moment then took a step towards the door. "Hai, I'm coming. Hinata-Chan, will you be ok while I talk to you father?" She asked the young heiress, who was now able to take in short, shallow breaths.

"Y-Yes, Kurenai-Sama. I'll b-be f-f-fine. Really."

She took another glance at Hinata. "Well, if you're sure…" She said, exiting out the door. Now that they were alone, Hanabi smirked at Hinata, looking at her in a mixture of disgust and respect.

"Well, dear older _sister_, I never thought you'd be able to land a hit on me. I admit I was surprised but no matter you proved yourself to be a weakling anyway. Did you see the look on father's face? Here he was hoping that you had improved and instead you are knocked flat on your face like all the other times. Even your sensei was ashamed of you, that you couldn't even hold your own in a fight. You shame me," She sneered, "Running around with your little boyfriend and your friends when you should be training. I deserve to be heiress not you and yet father continues to hold out, _hoping_ against _hope_ that you will improve. Sooner or later he will see that you are just a weakling and he will choose me instead. It's only a matter of time _sister_." She spat out, slamming the door hard behind her.

Hinata was in tears, desperately crying out, "Naruto-Kun! Naruto-Kun! Please…...Help me!"

**(Naruto's Private Training Ground)**

"Gahh…" He grunted as Dragon pressed the kunai closer to his face, the razor edge barely touching his nose. They were doing some full contact, weapon sparring and things had gotten intense very quickly. After their first session against each other when Yūgao tore Dragon open for being too serious, she felt like this time Naruto would be more prepared. So the things that she used to call him out on, she let go so the fight would play through. Of course she was still keeping a very watchful eye on him but for the most part remained silent.

Naruto grit his teeth and with a stint of amazing strength, pushed Dragon off of him and shouted out, "**Kawarimi no Jutsu! (1)**"

A log appeared where Naruto was just a second ago. Just in time to because Dragon launched the kunai and it pierced through the log where Naruto's arm would have just been. He appeared behind Dragon, and before he could react, dropped low to the ground and swiveled his body to sweep the ANBU off his feet. Dragon fell with a hard thud, growling as he quickly reached to grab Naruto only for another log to appear out of thin air. Naruto appeared behind a thicket of brush and knew he had only seconds before Dragon would get up and find him. He grabbed a long cloth off the ground and held it in front of him, covering his body.

"**Kakuremino no Jutsu! (2)**"Both he and the cloth disappeared from sight, blending in to the environment around him. Sure enough Dragon was back on to his feet quickly and stared around, seeking for any sign of Naruto.

"Come out Naruto! You can't hide forever!" Dragon roared, slashing a kunai at the air in front of him. Naruto said nothing, instead maneuvering silently around Dragon. He was trying to go around the other side to where his unattended shuriken lay before Dragon realized what he was up too. Unfortunately, just as he thought that Dragon grinned and quickly slashed his Kunai in his direction.

"Ah!" Naruto hissed, his disguise faltering. The Kunai had made a small scratch on Naruto's stomach but he had no time to take care of it; for Dragon came charging at him, full speed ahead the moment he appeared.

"**Bunshin no Jutsu! (3)**" Over one hundred Naruto's appeared and began running round the original before enclosing around Dragon in a circle.

"Namikaze, show yourself! Now!" Dragon growled glaring at the clones around him. The identical Naruto's made no motion, instead looking at Dragon with crossed arms. "Fine then, I'll just have to take you all out! I hope you like fire!"

"**Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu! (4)"** Dragon shouted, lashing a long cord in the air. Immediately, the cord became cloaked in fire and he swung it around in a circle, hitting all of the Naruto's surrounding him. They vanished instantly and their numbers were dwindling quickly until there were only 4 Naruto's left. One of them ducked underneath the cord when it came his way, instead watching as the cord hit the others. Naruto was exposed and had to think of something soon before the cord, Dragon had risen quickly, only to strike it down hard where he lay visible to the naked eye. He performed another substitution Jutsu just as the fire whip came crashing down, roasting the substituted log.

"**Bunshin no Jutsu! Henge no Jutsu! (5)" **10 clones appeared each appearing as Dragon. This time Dragon was prepared and launched shuriken with a rope attached to it at the nearest "Dragon" to him. Of course the weapon dispelled the clone and became embedded into the ground. The rope, however, continued to attack the clones and found the real Naruto, wrapping itself around his feet and his hands, completely preventing him from moving. Dragon smirked, walking slowly over to Naruto.

"Well, Well, Well Naruto. It looks like you've be caught."

Naruto smiled back. "Not for long, Dragon. **Nawanuke no Jutsu! (6)**" The rope around his limbs just fell limp and Naruto took off quick as bullet as soon as he was free. Dragon pulled on the back of his head in disbelief, following behind him.

Naruto focused chakra into his feet and ran up the stalk of a tree, propelling himself off it just as Dragon appeared. Dragon's arms were outstretched preparing to enclose the boy in his iron grip. At the very last second Naruto substituted himself with a branch that hit Dragon in the face. Dragon cursed throwing the branch off of him until he felt the sharp end of a kunai pressing against his neck. Naruto had hoped Dragon would fall for his ruse and when he did, the blonde immediately appeared behind him holding a kunai to his neck while he was distracted.

"It's over." He said quietly, removing the dagger from his neck just as Yūgao and Falcon walked over.

"Good Job Naruto-Kun. Even with the strides you've made, I wasn't expecting you to be able to not only, keep up with Dragon, but to beat him too. I think that's enough sparring for today. It's almost sunset but let's start with some Taijutsu. You remember over the last few sessions when I was teaching you to enhance weapons in Taijutsu with chakra? You do? Great, now what did I tell you your chakra affinity was?"

"You said my own natural affinity is wind but because I have the Kyūbi's chakra, I inherited its affinity for the others too: Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Water."

"Exactly, so today we are going to combine those two to make an affinity chakra enhanced Taijutsu attack. Do you have your knives?"

Naruto reached a hand behind him and pulled out his knives, placing wrapping his hand around the especially made cut for his fist.

"I want you to practice on that tree but use your wind affinity. Like I said before, not all chakra is the same. In an average Shinobi there are two chakras: There's pure chakra and then there's affinity chakra. The only difference between pure chakra and affinity chakra is that affinity chakra enhances certain techniques to a level that pure chakra can't. I.E. techniques that use the element of that chakra's affinity. Unlike, most Shinobi, you have more than two distinct affinities which makes mastering your chakras even more difficult. You now have all of the Kyūbi's pure chakra, which is hard to tame in itself, but also its elemental chakra which is even harder. Elemental chakra is so much harder to call upon the pure chakra so even without your massive chakra storage; it will still take a couple years for you to completely master it.

"Any other Shinobi, like myself, even at ANBU level it would take many years to master. It took me seven years to master my own lightning affinity, which is the shortest time that anyone Shinobi has ever mastered it. But you have more control than I ever did so I'm sure that you will master much quicker than I did."

Naruto grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head to which Yūgao laughed. "Ok Naruto-Kun, I want you to focus on distinguishing your chakra. It takes a very long time to distinguish between just two chakra but you have six so don't be disappointed if you don't get it today." By the end of it Naruto felt exhausted but satisfied and disappointed at the same time. He had only been able to sort out two chakras: earth and water. The rest of it was hidden somewhere within his chakra network somewhere and just didn't want to be identified.

"Alright, that's enough for today Naruto-Kun. We'll pick it up tomorrow with Kenjutsu." She said, eyeing Dragon and Falcon suspiciously. They had been silent since Dragon's fight with Naruto but it wasn't peaceful and more so a tense silence. The two best friends had gotten in an argument a couple weeks ago and had not been on speaking terms because of it.

"H-Hai, Yūgao-Sama…" He huffed out exhaustedly. "I-I'll be r-r-ready." Yūgao smiled, giving him a small wave before they Shunshined away in a column of leaves.

**12:00 A.M.**

Darkness had settled over the village covering the ancient wooden buildings in a thick cloak of black, only the eerily white light from the moon casting shadows. The night was very quiet and the inhabitants of Konoha were well into their slumber. All in all, it was the perfect opportunity for all sorts of creatures of the night. A petty thief, looting his way through homes; the perfect setting of a late night rendezvous between young lovers; or even the best time to take a walk in a journey of self-discovery. However on this night, the worst of these creatures appeared, slinking out while all others were dormant in their bed; baring its teeth in anticipation and thrill of the hunt.

The Kumo Head Ninja scoffed at the weak nighttime security of the village. Spare the two patrols guarding the entrance gate, there were no other Shinobi guarding the village.

'_These blasted fools! There's no one else to keep their precious village "safe" except those two lowly Chūnin out by the front gate. Kidnapping the Hyūga girl from underneath their noses will be too easy!'_

The rooftops of the wooden buildings disappeared underneath his feet and the windswept coattails of his cloak. Soon enough he reached his destination: the prominent and intimidating gates of the Clan District mocking him.

'_We'll see how strong these gates really are.' _It was then that he noticed the two guards below him from his spot in a nearby tree. _'You have got to be kidding me? Only two Chūnin at every gate? Pitiful.'_

The Head Ninja quickly whispered, "**Kakuremino no Jutsu!**" and he immediately absorbed the colors of his surroundings. Quick and light as feather, he expertly propelled himself over the gate.

"Hey did you feel something?"

"Yeah, but I don't see anyone. Must be the wind."

"Yeah. Right. The wind." The other stated unsurely.

'_Fools.' _Soon the two confused guards were behind him and he took a brief glance at each of the homes to appreciate the unique architecture.

'_Maybe they're not all such inbreeds after all.'_

The Hyūga clan estate was well within his sight and the Head Ninja jumped onto the ground, landing subtly on his feet. Though there were no guards around, he wasn't taking any chances and said, "**Hikinuki no Jutsu. (7)."** His chakra enhanced senses could now hear the slightest sound, feel the smallest twitch, and now see through any solid object; this ability was mostly due to Kumo's own Kekkei Genkai that allowed them to have almost equal vision to the Byakugan. The bloodline could do everything exactly as the Byakugan except the 360° vision of their surroundings. The Kekkei Genkai also didn't have the ability to directly see the chakra points but they could easily locate signatures from up to 60 kilometers away, something the Byakugan could not. The idea of combining these two bloodlines together would make each clan invincible in almost every aspect.

It was an idea that Kumo jumped at and forcefully tried to arrange a marriage between a number Hyūga women and one of Kumo's elite ninja. It was to be a breeding project of sorts and their plan required more women after a number of years to steadily build the clan's numbers. As expected the Hyūga's refused their idea, saying that it was repugnant and that all Kumo wanted was to breed a species of super soldiers with no compassion or care for the true rebuilding process. Kumo didn't take to that kindly and swore that one day they would get a Hyūga and breed a new blood line. Today, that day has come as the Head Ninja sensed to Hyūga clansmen patrolling the estate with their Byakugan activated. IT was time for Kumo to return to their true power and glory.

The Head Ninja was very careful to hide behind a wide tree, while knowing he had very few precious seconds before he was found. He needed a diversion to distract the guards because they were moving steadily closer to him.

_'Think! Think!'_

The distraction needed to be so that it would occupy the guards' attention long enough for him to kidnap the girl; but not fatal or obvious enough to alert them that someone was on their grounds. He pulled a small wooden ball out of his pocket glancing at it in the dim light. It was weathered and hollow due to the numerous holes carved into it. It was a sleep bomb that would release a cloud of smoke. The smoke was made from potent medical herbs in Kumo that if not properly harvested and cured, could kill an army of men in its bare form.

However, in this particular case, the herbs were being used as a sleeping concoction to disable the guards for a brief but concise five minutes. He threw the ball at the two clansmen and the effect was immediate; the sounds of two heavy bodies falling simultaneously greeted his ears. The Head Ninja glanced around the trunk to see the guards flat out cold.

_'Now is my chance!'_

**(Hinata's Bedroom)**

"Naruto-Kun!" Hinata screamed, her chest heaving up and down. She'd been having a horrible nightmare and her body was covered in cold sweat as a result of it.

_**(Nightmare)**_

_**The sky was dark and somber, the clouds rolling with dread followed by roaring thunder. Hinata shivered as the coolness of the air seeped into her bones, freezing her body to its very core.**_

_**"Hi-a!" A low raspy voice called out.**_

_**Hinata was now afraid beyond herself but managed to squeak out, "Who's there?"**_

_**"Hin-a-ta!" The voice called again, coming out much stronger. Once again, Hinata shivered but nearly jumped out of her skin when the voice called out again.**_

_**"HINATA!" The fog began to disappear from there area in which the voice came. There, before her frightened and wide eyes was...Naruto?**_

_**This Naruto sent her heart into fear and her mind into overdrive. He was covered in bruises and deep cuts that had been untended for too long. It was the image she remembered seeing as they watched him get attacked by the mob. Except this time there was no help coming and he was very well on the brink of death.**_

_**"NARUTO-KUN!" She screamed and immediately rushed toward him without a second thought. He glanced up at her weakly, the light slowly disappearing from his eyes. He coughed and it sounded like nails rubbing against sandpaper, dry and grounding.**_

_**"Hinata-Chan...please take...you...please take Sakura-Chan and Ino-Chan and run away...Please! Before they come get you too...I can't...I can't bare the thought of you being in danger...please..." Suddenly, his eyes grew wide as though he heard the approach of footsteps. "Go...now...Hinata-Chan...he's here Hinata-Chan! He's here! Run! Run now! Run...run...run." His voice faded out as he took one last rattling breath before his eyes closed, forever to remain shut.**_

_**"Naruto-Kun!" Hinata screamed, trying to shake him awake in desperation. "Naruto-Kun! Please! Wake up! Wake up!" The hot tears rolled down her face like alert raindrops.**_

_**(End)**_

Hinata long felt the tears running down her own face before the dream even ended. It had seemed so real!

"Naruto-Kun..." She managed to get out before her sobs overtook her. Her small body was rattling with the force of her cries, shaking the bed.

"Hmm, I'm not exactly this Naruto-Kun you speak of but how about when you're older I'll make you my pet. My little Hyūga.**"**

**(Naruto's Bedroom)**

Naruto lay across his bed, staring at the ceiling. He could not fall asleep, despite the fact that his body had been put through the wringer. It frustrated him to no end that while his body was begging for rest, his mind would not allow him the simple necessity; almost as if doing it out of spite. The room had become stifling hot as a warm breeze blew in from the open window. The midnight sky seemed especially brightened by the moon to Naruto, with the sky a vibrant but smooth hue of blue almost violet.

The color reminded him of emotions and...love. It still amazed him how he found love in so unexpectedly but still, he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. A cool shiver ran down his spine despite the fact that he felt beads of sweat beginning to form and trickle down his forehead. It was a rather odd sensation but he just couldn't shake the feeling that something was...off.

_'Maybe I should go outside. Take a walk or something.' _He thought.

He pulled on the discarded training shirt he'd worn earlier, making his way outside. The air was warm and dry, not exactly ideal to clear one's head but he just felt like he had to be there. Walking casually, Naruto placed his hands in his pockets and stared at the sky; taking deep breaths to try and clear his mind. Unknowingly, his feet carried him towards the Hyūga estate where he came to a sudden stop.

**(Hokage Mansion)**

"Hokage-Sama! Hokage-Sama!"

The old Hokage sighed and opened the door still dressed in his sleeping robes. "What is it?"

The ninja bowed his head quickly then looked at the Hokage with an urgent expression. "The Kumo Head Ninja has disappeared from his hotel suite, just as you said he might."

Sarutobi sighed heavily, rubbing his weary eyes. He sat there for a moment before his eyes hardened in a steely resolve. "I was hoping it would not come to this. That Kumo would finally let go of their bitterness and jealousy but it is becoming quite obvious that I was wrong." He spoke to himself, resting his head upon his clasped hands. "Isiku-San gather the ANBU and tell them to cover all of the exits out of the village. Send all the Jōnin squads to find the Head Ninja. I want him alive but it he tries to escape kill him."

Isiku stared fearfully at the Hokage. "Hokage-Sama, do you really feel that the matter is that serious?"

"It is more than serious, Isiku. If he is not caught there will be grave consequences, not only for our village but for all other Shinobi. I fear that if we are too late, an innocent girl won't be the only life lost in this endeavor."

"Hokage-Sama, surely you don't mean-"

"Call Yūgao and Yamato. I will need them to escort me to the Clan Estate. I have a feeling that young Hinata Hyūga's life may be in jeopardy."

**(Inside The Village, Above the Treetops)**

The Head Ninja grinned sinisterly, when he could see the gates of Konoha close upon him.

'_It won't be long now. Though I must admit, I at least expected the fools to send someone after me. Pathetic._**' **Hinata's small form lolled about as he moved through the air, her body in a deep drug-induced state of unconsciousness.

"Hmm, it seems the little Hyūga princess is more beautiful than I imagined. She will make me mountains of gold for our fair ninja to breed with her. I can only imagine…all that gold…" A weak branch suddenly gave way from beneath the Kumo Ninja's feet, and sent him crashing down into a wooded clearing some distance away.

"What the hell was that?" Then he realized that somewhere during this ordeal, his "package" had slipped off. "Where is the Hyūga?"

Little did he know that someone had indeed followed them and was in dangerously close proximity to the Head Ninja.

"I've got you, my Hinata-Chan. I'm never leaving you." He whispered into her sleeping frame. Hinata let out a small smile in her slumber, snuggling closer to the warmth of his body.

"My Naruto-Kun…"

**(The Clan Estate)**

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" Hiashi roared, his normally passive face ruined with emotion. The Hyūga surrounding him were silent their faces ashen gray. When he saw that he would receive no answer, he swiped at a tree and effectively sent it sprawling to the ground in splinters. Apparently, that was not enough to abate his fury, for he immediately turned on the two guards. "YOU! HOW DID YOU LET HER GET AWAY? WHY DIDN'T YOU TRY TO CATCH WHOEVER DID THIS? WHAT HAPPENED?"

The two men shuffled nervously and could not meet their master's eyes.

"W-Well Hiashi-Sama-"

"We were keeping guard-"

"Then out of nowhere this wooden object landed among us-"

"And put us out with sleeping gas-"

"But we didn't realize that it was a sleeping bomb."

Hiashi looked livid and pounced immediately, "That's it! That's the only reason you have for letting my daughter get kidnapped! Because you didn't use your common sense to notice that there was someone hiding on the grounds and that they threw a sleeping bomb?" His voice became quieter and gained a chilled edge to it. "If one hair on my daughter's head is harmed, you will wish he had killed you..."

"Hiashi!" A strong voice commanded. All eyes turned to the Hokage as he appeared through the gate. He was dressed in his battle robes, his battered and chewed pipe was absent and his expression was commanding and somber. Hiashi instantly bowed his head and kneeled before him, "Hokage-Sama!" he said respectfully. Sarutobi nodded his head sagely and gave an ancient smile but it disappeared quickly.

"Hiashi-San, I am going to need you to calm your temper. Just calm down and compose yourself."

"But Hokage-Sama, my daughter-"

"I understand Hyūga-Sama." Everyone's eyes widened at hearing the Hokage speak to Hiashi so respectfully. "But you are no use to your daughter if you are frantic and not composed. Hinata does not need that right now Hiashi. She needs you to be calm and collected and to be the protector that she's grown to know."

Hiashi looked incredulous and took a deep breath to compose himself.

"Hai Hokage-Sama. G-Gomen!" He uncharacteristically stuttered. Very few knew but when he was younger, Hiashi had a terrible stutter that has seemed to pass on to Hinata. It was very, very rare these days that Hiashi stumbled over his words. The only occurrence in recent time was the day his daughter was born. Baby Hinata, in all her infant beauty, left him speechless and enraptured at the wonder that he had a hand in the creation of something so pure, so innocent. Regardless, the Hokage was right. Hinata needed him more than ever and he had to be at his best.

The old Hokage smiled, "Now that that's settled, we must hurry. I have a feeling that Hinata may not be the only innocent involved in this." Hiashi looked taken aback.

"Do you mean-"

"Hai." He said, looking to the neighboring Namikaze estate. "It is just as I have suspected. It seems that Naruto-Kun has gone after Hinata."

Hiashi's face hardened as he stared down in deep thought.

_'Naruto, whatever you do...please do not let my Hinata-Chan get away.'_

**(The Village Gates)**

Hinata was still fast asleep, safely secured and comforted against Naruto's chest by the warm beating of his heart. They only had seconds, possibly moments before the Kumo Head Ninja found them and if he did; it wouldn't end well for them. Naruto knew that there was hardly any chance that he could outrun him, especially bearing the weight of Hinata. The only real choices he had were to continue hiding, in hopes that it would buy some time or to tough it out and take the ninja head on.

Naruto leaned his head back against the rough trunk of a nearby tree. He closed his eyes and let out a deep, slow breath.

'_Kami, please protect Hina-Chan, Saku-Chan, and Ino-Chan if something happens to me._'

Suddenly, Naruto heard the Kumo Ninja stop. His feet crushing harshly against the fallen leaves, crackling the air with its sound. The man let out a frustrated growl, screaming out "I know you're here whoever you are! I can feel your chakra signature. Just come out right now or else I'll set this whole place on fire."

There was no doubt he could do it was very capable of killing them both.

'_Maybe, if I can distract him long enough, somebody might find us.'_

At this point Naruto didn't know the Hokage was already on the way with Yūgao, Yamato, and all the other clan leaders. Nor that the ANBU had already secured the perimeter and there'd be absolutely no way for the Head Ninja to escape. With his thought in mind, Naruto sighed and hid Hinata safely in the protective grove of a tree. He took a long look at her moonlit face and noticed she possessed an almost celestial, outer worldly beauty. Quietly, he placed a soft loving kiss on her forehead. His young heart swelled with love and apprehension, wistful with the reality that it may be the last time he'd see her again.

"I love you, Hinata-Chan."

Before he could have time to change his mind, Naruto jumped from the tree making his way out into the open. The Head Ninja whipped around and sneered with malicious delight before letting out a mad cackle.

"This! This is it?" He stumbled out between cackles. "This is the best Konoha has to offer? This is their elite Shinobi? Ha, you're just a child probably just beginning academy school. Oh this is rich, just rich. Tell me kid; before I kill you, what's your name? So I can share this with my colleagues that the Hidden Leaf sent a child to take on a Kumo elite."

Naruto felt the nerves he felt disappear to be replaced with barely suppressed anger at the ninja's mocking.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto." He grounded out, clenching his fists and grinding his teeth. The ninja just laughed harder at him, obviously taking delight in his anger. "Uzumaki-**Namikaze** Naruto." He finished, immediately ceasing the Head Ninja's laughter.

"You- You're the son of the _**Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō**_? Hmm, it seems that I have underestimated your value, boy. Perhaps we could use your bloodline to inherit the Kekkei Genkai of the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans as well."

Naruto scrunched his face up in a look of disgust. "What? Use me to inherit…that's why you're here? Kidnapping someone to breed them for their Kekkei Genkai? That's just sick! You're not leaving here with me and you're definitely not leaving here with Hinata-Chan. Ever." He said, and by his voice, he meant business. The Kumo Ninja just laughed.

"Who's going to stop me? You? I tell you what kid, I'm feeling generous today. Just give me the girl and I won't kill you. Otherwise, if you try to fight me, you will lose and I'll kill you and take the girl. How's that sound boy?" Naruto shook his head, crossing his arms tightly and stepping in front of the Ninja when he tried to walk past him. The Ninja scowled at Naruto, glowering into the boy's unblinking eyes.

"Alright junior, if that's the way you're going to be, then I'll just have to kill you and take the girl for myself, Yellow Flash's son or not."

The Head Ninja made a few complicated handsigns, yelling out, "**Raiton: Kuroi Kaminari! (8)" **His hands became encompassed in chakra that spread out to his chest, his legs until it was covering his entire body. Soon the chakra around him began to sizzle and crackle like lightning. It turned black and the Kumo Ninja smiled sinisterly, roughly slinging his arm out towards a large tree. There was a flash and thunderous boom as the tree fell splintered and charred to pieces. It was then that Naruto realized that what he thought was chakra was actually lightning. Almost too late, he became aware that the ninja had sent a bolt towards him and moved just out of the way as the charge exploded into the ground just below him.

'_I have to do something before he shoots again and hits the tree that Hinata-Chan is in!'_

Without thinking, Naruto ran as hard as he could and caught the Head Ninja off guard, tackling harshly to the ground. Almost immediately he felt his body being singed by lighting as hurriedly tried to get away. His heart began to convulse with the paralyzing shocks of electricity jolting through his body. He heard the slashing of wind as the air crackled next to him and felt his body sling up sixty feet in the air before landing onto the ground in a sickening thud. He coughed up the blood that was threatening to drown him and struggled to breath amongst his cracked ribs. Naruto felt warmth spreading through his chest as his chakra desperately worked to mend his broken bones.

"**Raiton: Jū-Ren Konbo! (9)"**

Before he could move a leg collided with his face followed by a fist and then another and another until Naruto could feel his body collapsing underneath the pressure.

**(With The Hokage and the others)**

"Hokage-Sama, look!" Yūgao said, pointing to an area. There was a blue flash for just part of a second followed by a roar of thunder. It was brief but it was just enough for the Hokage to know that lightning was the result of a technique and not a natural occurrence. There was a loud grumbling as the group walked through the village, seeing curious villagers out in the street trying to find the source of the commotion.

"Hokage-Sama! Hokage-Sama!" He heard a small voice say.

"Sakura! Sakura, come back." A pink haired woman said, still wearing her robes. Sakura stopped and pulled softly on the Hokage's robe looking at him with bright green eyes. "What's going on Hokage-Sama? What's happening out there?" Her mother had finally caught up to them and placed her arms around Sakura.

"Young lady, do not ever do that again! I was so worried about you when I heard you rushing out of the house." She looked sheepishly at the Hokage and clan leaders behind him. "Please forgive my daughter. She's a little restless tonight."

"It's quite alright, Kaba-Chan."

"Sakura!" Her father's voice called out from the crowd behind the Hokage. "Hokage-Sama, gomen." He said bowing before returning back to his daughter. "What are you doing out here? You should be sleeping now."

Sakura looked at him with wide eyes. "I know tousan but I wanted to know what was going on, so I went outside." She looked at Sarutobi again with wide pleading eyes. "Please Hokage-Sama, tell me what's going on? Please!" Sarutobi started to say something but was interrupted again by Inoichi who emerged with his family from the flower shop. He was dressed in his combat gear while the rest of his family was in their nighttime garments. Ino made her way over to Sakura and the two looked at the Hokage expectantly.

"Hokage-Sama? Is it true? Has someone been kidnapped?" A gasp went through the crowd as they began whispering.

"Someone's been kidnapped? Oh goodness…"

"I wonder who it is."

"I want to know who did it."

"I bet it was that guy, Waru. Always did have a screw loose…"

"No, I bet it was that snake mistress Anko. Probably went running back with her master…"

"No you're all wrong. I bet it was that demon bastard…"

"Enough!" The Hokage shouted and immediately all conversation ceased. He turned back to Inoichi, "It is true Inoichi. Someone has been kidnapped. At around midnight this evening young Hinata Hyūga was taken from her room and the culprit escaped from the clan's grounds with her." The crowd gasped until someone shouted, "So who did it?" Sarutobi took a deep breath and with a nod from Hiashi he proceeded.

"We have evidence that say the Head Ninja of Kumogakure did it." Another gasp and Sakura and Ino were looking at each other fearfully.

"H-Hinata-Chan." Ino said softly, her eyes filling with tears.

"Oh no…" Sakura cried softly, her voice cracking. Inoichi and Sakori looked at the ground and walked over to Hiashi placing hands on his shoulders sympathetically.

"We'll get her back Hiashi." Said Sakori.

"And we won't stop until she's safe and that bastard is dead." Inoichi added, squeezing his friend's shoulder.

"That's not the only thing." Sarutobi continued to the anxious crowd. "We fear she was not alone." There was a collective intake of breath as they waited for him to finish.

"Earlier this morning, Naruto Namikaze was found missing. We believe-"

Before he could say another word, there was strong flash that illuminated the sky followed by a series of sonic booms.

"Naruto!" The two girls shouted before running towards the commotion.

"Ino, Sakura!" Inoichi called, hurrying after them. Yūgao had followed behind the girl's when she saw them take off and was close on their tail.

"Come, let's follow them!" The Hokage said to the Shinobi behind him.

**(With Sakura and Ino)**

The two girls came out to the clearing and watched as a man covered in black lightning laughed cruelly.

"You think you can handle me boy? Ha! You're more pathetic than the lousy Chūnin security in this pitiful village. I'm done with you and your pathetic "heroism". Now tell me where the girl is? Brat! Before I kill you."

They saw Naruto glance in their direction and his eyes widened briefly when he recognized that they were there.

**(With Naruto)**

"S-Saku? I-Ino-Cha-" Unfortunately, The Head Ninja followed his eyes and smirked at them maliciously.

"Well, well. Looks like you brought some friends for me boy. I don't think they'll do much for Kekkei Genkai but I do have a friend that would just love to add two pretty young girls to his…concubine collection. I'm sure he'll enjoy breaking you two in." He made a move to walk over to them but was stopped by a firm hand grasping his ankle. He looked down to see Naruto holding his ankle tightly in his grasp and glowering at him with a look that could only be defined as pure, unadulterated hatred. The Head Ninja tried to kick his leg out of Naruto's grasp but the boy held on tight with no signs of letting go.

**(With Yūgao)**

While the ninja was occupied, Yūgao took the time to search for Hinata. There was faint, steady heartbeat coming from a few hundred meters from where Sakura and Ino were. Quietly and as quickly as she could, Yūgao sped over there to see Hinata wide awake in the nook of a particularly strong oak looking frightened and sad. "Yūgao-Sensei?" She asked timidly and letting out a sob of relief as the older woman carefully took her into her arms. "You're alright Hinata-Chan?'

She nodded. "H-Hai Yūgao-Sensei but where is Naruto? I thought he was here." Yūgao couldn't stop herself from glancing into the clearing and she heard Hinata let out a strangled sob.

"Naruto-Kun.."

"Hinata, I'm going to take you to Ino and Sakura and when you get there; I want you three to run back towards the village."

"But-"

"That's not an option!" Yūgao shouted, shocking the poor girl. "Unless, you want Naruto to die, you will do as I say!"

Hinata snapped out of it and nodded softly. "I understand Yūgao-Sensei." With that said, Yūgao traveled as fast her legs could carry her, trying to help her Naruto-Kun to safety.

'_Wait, my Naruto-Kun?'_

**(With Naruto)**

Naruto could feel his grip on the man's ankle increase until he felt the bones within his hand vibrate and crackle and shatter in his grasp.

"OUCH!" The Ninja screamed, desperately trying to escape Naruto. But Naruto **couldn't** let go, he **would not** let go. Without conscious, thought he felt his body healing itself and began to rise slowly until he was kneeling before the Kumo Head Ninja. Looking into the Ninja's scared, fearful eyes he saw his reflection in the man's pupil. His body became encased in red chakra and his whiskers became prominent as his face became feral and bestial. Looking down at his hands, he saw the nails at the end of his fingers had become…talons? Yes, they were somewhat of a bird's talons and the claws of a feral beast, like the 9 tailed fox. His eyes, they had changed too. They were…They were…

Before he knew what was happening, he made some hand signals and said, "**Katon: Hibashiri! (10) Fūton: Kamikaze! (11)**" Streams of fire began to shoot from his hands and coil themselves around the Kumo Ninja effectively caging him in a cylinder of fire. Naruto then placed his hands in the bird seal and blew into his enlaced fingers. Leaves on the surrounding trees began to shiver and tremble as a large gust of wind was emitted from Naruto's hand, combining with the ring of fire surrounding the Head Ninja. The column of flames rose higher and higher and higher until it dispersed and swept through the clearing like a vicious, scorching inferno hurricane, destroying everything in its path. The flames began to lick towards the area where Hinata, Yūgao, Sakura and Ino hid watching the approaching fire with fear.

Naruto's body began to glow, flecks of gold merging with the crimson chakra surrounding him; slowing overtaking the red chakra until his body was illuminated in a golden sheen of light. His talons retracted, his body lost its feral shape and his chest began to broaden, the muscles in his arms swelling and becoming more defined; his legs slowly bending into an almost crouch. His eyes began to glow and emit beams of golden light. He had gone from a feral beast to a majestic creature, almost aviation like. Like an eagle preparing to take flight. With unnatural speed, Naruto moved in front of the approaching flames and quickly began to go through a series of complex hand seals. "**Suiton: Tenkai! (12)**"

Almost immediately, a wall of water formed itself around him, shaping itself into sphere just before the inferno jumped at the girls. Naruto was in ultimate concentration as he held the now encompassing shield of water, taking deliberate steps forward with the sphere following him. Now that the danger to them was eliminated, he whispered a command and the water dispersed into a fierce gale, quenching the once encompassing fire. The trees surrounding them were non-existent and ground below them was blackened and covered in mud and soot. Slowly, Naruto walked forward (still glowing) until he was at the side of the writhing Kumo ninja, glaring down at him with illuminated eyes. The ninja was covered in burns and bruises his body still in shock at being burnt and drown to death at the same time. It was a wonder that he was still alive.

"Who-Who the hell are you?" He coughed out fearfully, his weak struggling to move away from the young boy. "W-What do you w-want from me?" Naruto took a couple steps forward, placing his boot on the man's charred arm. He kneeled down and grabbed the Ninja by the scrap of his vest, or what was left of it. "My name is Naruto Namikaze and I want to make one thing clear. I want you to stay away from me and my village and my precious people. I want you to tell your friends, your Kage, your nation, and your allies that if they **ever**, **ever** come near my village again they will be sorry. This is only a small sample of what I am capable of and I will not hesitate to do **anything** to protect my precious people. **Anything**!" He dropped the frothing man to the ground, watching as he winced and closed his eyes, his body shutting down from shock and attempting to recoup.

Naruto stepped back slowly and began to walk to where his girls were standing. He saw they were surrounded by the clan leaders and the Hokage, who were watching him intently in absolute disbelief.

"N-Naruto-Kun?" Hinata's voice asked softly from within her father's arms. He glanced at her tear streaked face and suddenly felt all the power leave his body, watching as the glow surrounding him slowly ebbed and disappeared until he was just plain, old Naruto. His body felt tired and his muscles strained and sagged with the effort to keep him standing upright. He gave his girls a sleepy grin, saying "Hina-Chan, Saku-Chan, Ino-Chan…you're ok." Then he felt his eyes close and could not move as he felt his body freefall to the ground. He internally braced for the impact of his fall and instead felt two soft, strong arms encompassing him.

"Yūgao-Sama." He whispered, before the darkness encompassed him.

**(A Few Days Later)**

Naruto awoke and found himself, covered in wires and heard the occasional beep of a hospital machine.

'_Aww man, I'm in the hospital again? I wonder how long I've been out this time.'_

Slowly, he felt his eyes opening as he blinked several times to sort out his surroundings.

"Naruto-Kun, you're awake." He heard Ino say and then heard collective gasps in the room as he opened his eyes fully.

"Ino-Chan, Hinata-Chan, Sakura-Chan, what's wrong?"

"Naruto-Kun, don't freak out but…" Yūgao started as she stared almost wonderingly in his eyes.

"But what Yūgao-Sensei? Why would I freak out?" He saw that everyone was staring at him, even the wizened, old Hokage.

"Naruto-Kun, I think you should see for yourself." Hiashi said from his right side, standing behind Hinata. Sakori handed him a mirror and he sucked in a breath when he saw his reflection.

"M-My eyes! They've changed!"

**Jutsu List**

**(1) Substitution Technique**

**(2) Cloaking Technique**

**(3) Clone Technique**

**(4) Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique**

**(5) Illusionment Technique**

**(6) Escape Technique**

**(7) Scouting Technique**

**(8) Lightning Release: Black Lightning**

**(9) Lightning Release: 10-Hit Combo**

**(10) Fire Release: Running Fire**

**(11) Wind Release: Divine Wind**

**(12) Water Release: Celestial Sphere**

**11,000+ words this chapter. I'm making it a personal requirement of my stories for each chapter to be at least 10,000 words. So far so good. Thanks for reading and I hope you had as much fun reading the story as I did making it. At times, it was a struggle but I enjoyed making it. I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.**

**PS. For those of you who are wondering, I took a poll a long, long time ago about whether Yūgao should be added into to Naruto's "harem"(Hinata, Sakura, Ino) in this story and an overwhelming number of you said yes. I haven't forgotten about it. Also most of these Jutsu can be found on Naruto Wikipedia ( .Com) except for some of the ones that are my own originals. Well, thanks for reading.**

**With much love, respect, AND appreciation,**

**T. Soul – The Harem Master**


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